Core Facilities

NeuroImaging and NeuroComputation Core

The NeuroImaging and NeuroComputation Core (NINC) is located in the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health’s Koerner Laboratories at UBC Hospital. The NINC manages and provides support to the community to make the most of advanced microscopy and imaging systems as well as high performance computing infrastructure.

Under the leadership of Drs. Kurt Haas and Tim Murphy, NINC is an important hub serving the UBC neuroscience community. By leveraging the centre’s expertise in experimental design, technology development, quantitative and automated data analysis and advanced imaging and microscopy techniques, the NINC is advancing basic science research and accelerating the process of discovery.

NINC provides opportunities to foster connections both within the neuroscience community and outside of it, creating interdisciplinary links between researchers in neuroscience, physics, engineering, math and computer science.

Borgland Family Brain Tissue and DNA Bank

The Borgland Family Brain Tissue and DNA Bank (the Biobank) opened in 2015 as a centralized resource for collection, storage, and distribution of the highest quality of pre- and post-mortem tissue at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health.

The Biobank’s mission is to provide a comprehensive service for the collection, processing, storage, and rapid retrieval of biospecimens and medical information for approved research projects using a professional and compassionate approach to patient consenting that adheres to the highest standards of research ethics and patient privacy.

Charles E. Fipke Integrated Neuroimaging Suite

The Charles E. Fipke Integrated Neuroimaging Suite opened in 2019 as a first-of-its-kind imaging facility specifically focused on brain research.

It is home to a GE Signa PET/MRI hybrid scanner designated for brain-related research, a state-of-the-art Philips Ingenia Elition MRI and a Neurophysiology Suite. DMCBH researchers have been hard at work developing new research tools and sequences that leverage the advantages of the technologically advanced MRI and PET/MRI scanners.

The Suite provides innovative opportunities to study many neurological diseases including Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis.