IBER Request for Certification, Training, and Instrument Use

The Institute for Bioengineering Research Center (IBER) Laboratories has a diverse array of research equipment that is available for use by faculty, staff, and students. Clients who want to use this equipment should contact Dr. Charles Ye at yeq@ku.edu or Phone: 785-864-1746.

The instrumentation within the Institute for Bioengineering Research Laboratories is used for both research and teaching. To inquire about training on specific instrumentation, complete the Request for Certification and Training. Once the information on this form is verified, training sessions will be set up with a designated IBER staff member. A completed Request for Certification and Training form must be on file for anyone working in the Institute. Once trained personnel are granted permission to use a facility, the following guidelines must be strictly adhered to:

  1. Users must sign in using the equipment logbook. The experiment, sample type, time in and time out, and any problems should be recorded.
  2. The work area must be left clean. No samples or other materials are to be left behind.
  3. IBER lab safe procedures and all safety policies of the University of Kansas must be followed, including proper disposal of chemicals and broken glass, wearing safety glasses, protective clothing, etc.
  4. Data may be left as a backup on equipment computers however, the facility is not responsible for lost data. Save your data files and take them with you when your session is over.

Failure to follow any of the above procedures will result in either temporary or permanent termination of privileges.

Pricing Policy

Hourly instrument use charges are applied for each instrument according to whether or not center staff are involved. The instrument use charges are used to recover the operating costs associated with the lab (service contracts, general supplies, gases, spare parts, etc.). Consultation, data interpretation, and special analysis charges are not included. Collaborative projects with IBER Laboratories may be defined based on mutual benefits, which are for those requiring long-term commitment of time and effort. Initial consulting is generally available at no charge for new research projects. Typically, funding support is required via hourly rates, and/or arranged as a percent effort of sponsored research.

Note that the Director of the IBER Laboratories has extensive background and experience with the instrumentation.  If your research question requires an in-depth exploration of the full-range of capabilities of the instrumentation, you should make an appointment with the Director to discuss your problem. The Director has the theoretical knowledge, practical experience, and in-depth understanding that is required to gain the maximum benefit from the instrumentation available in the IBER laboratories.

Authorship Policy

Co-authorship on scientific articles is generally expected on studies where substantive input on experimental design and data analysis is provided. It is our policy not to forego funding in return for co-authorship.

All publications describing research work that used instrumentation available in IBER should acknowledge the Institute for Bioengineering Research Laboratories and the staff members. These publications will be included in our annual report. To this end, research advisors are asked to send copies of all publications that use the capabilities available in the IBER Laboratories to Dr. Charles Ye. The hourly instrument use charges are not a substitute for appropriate recognition of the contributions of IBER staff.

Specifications for the instrumentation are available on the web site of the KU Institute for Bioengineering Research. If detailed information regarding the available instrumentation is required for grant proposals, please contact Dr. Charles Ye or the IBER Director.

Reservations

Equipment reservations could be made through the IBER department account berc_instrument@ku.edu. After a Request for Certification and Training Form is on file for a user, he/she will send an email message to berc_instrument@ku.edu to schedule time on the instrument.

Billing

Invoices will generally be sent electronically during the first week of the month for the prior month and are due 30 days after they are received. All equipment use charges are billed in one hour increments and are based on the equipment reservation system. It is the responsibility of the user to make any reservation cancelations at least 24 hours prior to the reservation start time. Any reservation not canceled within 24-hours will be charged to the user at the standard rate.

Damage to Instrumentation

The user is responsible for any damage to instrumentation due to neglect or misuse by that user.