Microscopy and X-ray Diffraction Service celebrates 50 years of research service at the UAB
The UAB's SMiDRX commemorates 50 years of service to the university community. The service has become a key infrastructure for multidisciplinary research at the University and other nearby centres and entities. In the past year alone, over 300 users from more than 200 research groups have used it.
Its journey began in 1975 as the Electron Microscopy Service, and it started offering support to users in February 1976. Over the years, the service has expanded its capabilities and scope: it incorporated optical microscopy with the acquisition of the first confocal microscope (1996), introduced high-resolution techniques in transmission (2004) and scanning (2010) microscopy, and more recently (2024) it merged with the X-ray Diffraction Service, resulting in the current Microscopy and X-ray Diffraction Service (Servei de Microscòpia i Difracció de Raigs X, SMiDRX).
Today the SMiDRX is a technological unit of the Scientific and Technical Services (SCT) of the UAB and provides the scientific community with an infrastructure that integrates electron microscopy (with a sample preparation section), optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The service has highly qualified technical staff and provides scientific and technical support in a wide range of fields: from health to archaeology, including the biosciences, materials science, food technology, geology, and chemistry, for both academic and industrial projects.
The main users of the service are the research staff of the University from multiple departments, faculties and institutes who regularly use the service's infrastructure for research, teaching and knowledge transfer projects. Among the regular users are the Departments of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology; Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Animal and Food Science; Electronic Engineering; Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology; Physics; Genetics and Microbiology; Geology; Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering; Medicine; Animal Medicine and Surgery; Prehistory; Chemistry; and Animal Health and Anatomy. In addition, research institutes integrated into the UAB campus are also regular users, such as the Centre for Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy (CBATEG), the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), the Institute of Neuroscience (INc-UAB), the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (IBB), etc.
The service is centralised and open to the entire UAB research community and also to centres linked to the UAB Research Park (PRUAB), as well as to other universities, public research organisations and companies. According to recent data from the service, in the past year more than 300 users from over 200 research groups have used the facilities, an indicator of its role as a key infrastructure for multidisciplinary research at the UAB and its surroundings.
The commemorative event celebrating its 50 years of history took place on 20 February in the Josep Vendrell Room (Faculty of Biosciences) and included a historical review and the award ceremony of the SMiDRX Image Competition, open to anyone who has used the service since it was founded.