Applications CFU Assay Course-UK-Winter

The Colony-Forming Unit (CFU) assay is a foundational methodology in hematopoietic progenitor cell research, used to quantify erythroid, myeloid, and multilineage colony formation in semisolid culture. This winter applications course from STEMCELL Technologies delivers intensive, hands-on training in the complete workflow, from sample preparation through colony identification and enumeration.

Participants work through cell seeding, methylcellulose-based plating in 35 mm culture dishes, and incubation at 37 °C with 5% CO2, then score colonies across the spectrum of CFU-E, BFU-E, CFU-GM, CFU-M, and CFU-GEMM subtypes using an inverted microscope. Sessions address plating density optimization, troubleshooting common artifacts such as overlapping or satellite colonies, and standardization practices for inter-laboratory comparison.

The UK winter program is structured for new and intermediate-level researchers, including graduate students, core facility staff, and translational scientists intending to implement CFU assays in their own laboratories. Course materials include detailed protocols, reference morphology guides, and dedicated discussion time with STEMCELL Technologies application scientists for project-specific questions.