August 2026
Core Bits - Bite Size News from Shared Resources
Welcome, Shared Resources Community!
Welcome to the first edition of Core Bits – Bitesize News from Shared Resources, your source for all new Shared Resources advances, equipment and scientific offerings. This newsletter is designed to be quickly read and digested, allowing you to jump to the items of most interest to you. In the emailed newsletter, select the read more link in each article teaser to visit the Shared Resources Home Page for the full article and more, including previous newsletters (next month), information about Shared Resources, rates and ways to work with us. This format will also provide you with a glimpse of items you may not have realized you needed to know about.
You can opt out of this newsletter at any time by selecting the unsubscribe option at the bottom of each newsletter email. We hope that you will stay subscribed to continue to be in the know about all the new resources, equipment and opportunities we have to share.
Thank you,
Gordon Roble, DVM, MBA, DACLAM
AVP Shared Resources
Clinical Labs and Research Enterprise Operations
This month's articles
The Astral Zoom and Lunaphore Comet- out of this world new technology!
August 2026
With a great deal of gratitude to our partners in Philanthropy, Shared Resources has recently introduced the Orbitrap Astral Zoom Mass Spectrometer in Proteomics and the Lunaphone Comet in Experimental Histopathology. These two new state-of-the-art systems will advance your research to the moon and back!
Astral Zoom
The Fred Hutch Proteomics & Metabolomics Shared Resource has acquired a new state-of-the-art mass spectrometer, the Thermo Fisher Scientific Orbitrap Astral Zoom, to expand support for proteomics research. The instrument combines three mass analyzers: a quadrupole for ion isolation, an Orbitrap for high-resolution and accurate mass measurements, and the novel Astral analyzer, which delivers exceptional sensitivity and high dynamic range at acquisition rates of up to 270 Hz. Together with an upgraded instrument architecture, these technologies provide a next-generation platform for both high-sensitivity and high-throughput proteomics.
Compared with current instrumentation operating at 45 Hz, which supports whole-proteome analysis of highly fractionated samples at a rate of approximately six samples per day, the Astral Zoom enables whole-proteome analysis from a single 200 ng injection at up to 24 samples per day, with additional throughput gains anticipated through ongoing optimization. Initial testing has demonstrated deep proteome coverage of more than 9,500 proteins in human samples, excellent quantitative precision (average %CV <10%), and approximately 50% fewer missing values than the Shared Resource's existing mass spectrometers.
The Astral Zoom's enhanced sensitivity enables researchers to explore previously inaccessible regions of the proteome, while its increased throughput lowers the cost per sample, making large-scale proteomics studies more financially feasible and allowing complex projects to be completed more quickly.
To learn more about how this new capability can support your research, please contact the Proteomics & Metabolomics Shared Resource.
Lunaphore Comet
Thanks to a generous philanthropic donation, Experimental Histopathology is excited to now offer a new advancement in Space-tial Biology with multiplex IF (mIF) staining on the Lunaphore COMET instrument! The Lunaphore COMET is an automated staining and digital imaging platform, enabling detection of up to 40 unique protein and/or RNA markers on the same tissue section, with flexibility in panel design and 20X fluorescent imaging for single-cell resolution. Customized panels can be developed using your favorite IHC-compatible antibodies and up to 12 RNAscope probes. The final OME-TIFF file for each slide is compatible with a variety of image analysis software to allow researchers to choose the best option for their needs. Contact us at exphisto@fredhutch.org to discuss how the COMET can take your research to the stars!
Spotlight on Assay/ Model / Development Award
August 2026
A multidisciplinary collaboration between Comparative Pathology, Proteomics, Experimental Histopathology, Cellular Imaging and Genomics, the Shared Resources Assay/Model/Technology (AMT) Development award for “Enumeration and laser capture of lung cancer metastasis in a mouse model using AI workflows” was recently completed.
This project served to improve manual pathology and spatial proteomics workflows by
- utilizing a pathologist-informed AI-based classifier to detect lung tumor metastases from scanned H&E images using HALO AI (Figure 1) and
- incorporating automated protein extraction, laser capture microdissection (LCM) collection, and AI-directed LCM into the mass spectrometry (MS)-based spatial proteomics workflow (Figure 2).
Replacing manual dissection with automated tools optimized efficiency, increased precision and reproducibility in the LCM and proteomic workflow, resulting in higher throughput and more efficient use of limited specimens. Importantly, the HALO classifier is adaptable to user-generated data across tumor models, and the resulting digital image-to-proteomics workflow provides a fast, scalable, and cost-effective platform for spatial discovery at an estimated cost of $156–$327 per ROI, depending on scale.
Compared with current image-based spatial technologies, which are generally limited to fewer than 100 protein targets, laser capture microdissection (LCM)-based proteomic workflows provide cost-efficient, high-fidelity profiling of hundreds of proteins, enabling deeper biological insight without the significant expense of large-scale spatial studies.
More information: Save the Date! We will be presenting more on this project at the Shared Resources Lunchtime Seminar Wednesday, December 16 11:30-12:30 pm, Thomas D1-080/084 Sze. Please contact Raisa Glabman with any questions.
Shared Resources Seminar Recap
August 2026
Shared Resources hosts a monthly lunchtime seminar series, complete with food. Please join us to hear from scientists across the consortium whose work was made possible by the experts and equipment in Shared Resources. This newsletter will include a recap of the most recent presentation along with the schedule for future presentations. These seminars are an excellent time to join the SR community in asking questions and learning more about real-life examples of how SR can collaborate in supporting you.
August brought us the Genomics Shared Resource hosted seminar From Sample to Insight: Automated Workflows Powering Cancer & Vaccine Discovery, presented by Beckman Coulter’s Genomics, Automation and Cell Health teams and Dr. Gabe Boyle, a postdoctoral researcher at Seattle Children’s Research Institute in Dr. Jay Sarthy’s lab. In his seminar entitled Chromatin Profiling Reveals CBFA2T3::GLIS2 Hijacks mSWI/SNF Complexes to Drive High-Risk Pediatric Leukemia Gabe provided an overview of his work on chromatin regulation in fusion-driven acute myeloid leukemia. Emphasizing the critical support of Dr. Alex Zevin and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s Genomics Shared Resource, including its Automated CUT&RUN and CUT&Tag platforms, Gabe spoke of his work on investigating the underlying causes and potential new therapeutic strategies for treating this highly lethal infant acute megakaryoblastic leukemia.
Past News
February 2021
The Genomics & Bioinformatics shared resource recently reduced pricing for several NovaSeq 6000 flow cells, resulting from streamlined reagent manufacturing and reduction of Illumina kit costs. Some run costs have reduced by as much as 27%.
Our recently added NextSeq 2000 now enables high-output mode which generates up to 1.1 billion read pairs with 50, 100, 200 and 300 cycle sequencing kits available. In addition to the increased output, custom sequencing primers can now be incorporated into both P2 and P3 output modes. Improved instrument efficiency and reagent packaging provide a ~25% cost reduction when compared to HiSeq 2500 Rapid runs.
The genomics team continues to offer services for the full suite of 10x Genomics single-cell assays, including the new Single Cell Multiome ATAC + Gene Expression option which can measure gene expression and open chromatin simultaneously from the same cell, across thousands of cells.
The bioinformatics team is available for data analysis and consulting to help Cancer Consortium users make optimal use of this high-throughput instrumentation. Our group consists of three dedicated bioinformaticians with a wide range of expertise in standard applications such as RNA-seq, whole exome sequencing, ChIP-seq, CUT&RUN, CRISPR screens, and various single-cell analyses. We also provide consultation and bioinformatics support for more novel and customized workflows.
For questions or more information, please contact the genomics team at genomics@fredhutch.org and the bioinformatics team at bioinformatics@fredhutch.org.
February 2021
The Flow Cytometry shared resource has expanded to a second location in the historic Seattle Steam Plant. While the expansion was primarily to support the scientists in the building, the instrumentation there is available for anyone to use. The facility is in the northwest corner of the first floor. Please contact this location at 206.667.1221. The instrumentation at this location includes:
- Two new Becton Dickinson SORP FACS Celesta analyzers (four lasers, 16 colors)
- Two new BD FACS Symphony A5.2 analyzers (five lasers, 50 detectors), spectral or traditional
- One new BD Symphony S6 sorter (five lasers, 50 detectors), spectral or traditional
- One new Sony MA900 cell sorter (four lasers, 12 colors)
- One relocated Sony MA900 cell sorter (four lasers, 12 colors)
- One relocated CyTOF Helios
- One new Sony ID7000 cell analyzer (seven lasers, 188 detectors)
The expansion of the core will allow more opportunities to schedule equipment and more convenience for the end user. Both locations have similar instrument capabilities. If you have direct questions, reach out to flowcytometry@fredhutch.org.
February 2021
The Flow Cytometry shared resource received the Sony ID7000, one of the first placements in the world. The instrument is equipped with six lasers (deep UV laser to be added this summer) and 150 fluorescence channel detection (soon to be 186 channel). The ID7000 utilizes the full spectrum of a fluorescent marker, collecting continuous fluorochrome emission from 360nm-920nm. The fluorescent spectra from colors with similar peak emission can now be detected by looking at total light fingerprint of each color, then applying an unmixing algorithm to resolve them. Building a panel with 40+ colors is now attainable using commonly available, directly conjugated antibodies. While the spectral data looks different, when it is unmixed and displayed in 2D format, it looks like normal flow data. This instrument is placed in the Steam Plant facility. If you are interested in this new technology and how it might fit in to your project, please call the Steam Plant lab at 206.667.1221 or email the team at flowcytometry@fredhutch.org.
Jan. 22, 2021
Fred Hutch, including Shared Resources, dialed up to level 4A (4A: full labs + ≤25% office-based researchers). Employees and visitors are required to follow the center’s guidelines put in place by the Incident Command team led by the Fred Hutch leadership that includes the latest guidance from public health officials in Seattle, King County, the Washington state Department of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Reach out to the specific Shared Resources core that you intend to access for additional guidance.