Getting Started

1. Initiate a Project

To start screening, please fill out the screen proposal form and email to htcbmgr@sfu.ca.

• The screen proposal form will summarizes your aims, as well as your protocol. See our Additional Resources section for some useful information on screening development.

• After your request has been submitted, you will be contacted to set up an initial meeting.

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2. Complete User Agreements 

After your project has been accepted, complete the following forms and and email to htcbmgr@sfu.ca.

1. ​User registration form

2. User agreement form (select the form most applicable)

   • SFU personnel agreement​ form

   • Non-SFU personnel agreement form

   • Corporate user agreement form​

3. ​Obtain Biosafety Review/Approval

All users must obtain biosafety review (external user) or biosafety approval (internal users).

• More information can be found on the SFU Environmental Health and Safety website.

4. Register at QReserve

Register at the QReserve website, which handles all instrument reservations.

1. FIPPA ​consent form (consent is required to use QReserve)

2. QReserve registration

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5. Training

All users must receive training sessions on the pieces of equipment that will be using. You will be prompted to arrange a training session with the HTCB Research Scientist upon your first time booking each piece of equipment.

6. Screening Pipeline

For more information about the screening pipeline, please consult our pipeline flowchart.

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Additional Resources​

Information for screening development

To assist in the development of screens and to aid in identifying promising chemical matter we have started a small collection of literature references that users and potential users should find useful as a point of reference. The topics covered include:​

• General parameters to consider when planning and developing HTS assays.

• Useful review for consideration during the planning and development of phenotypic screening assays.

• Uses of cell painting in phenotypic screening.

​Note that hits obtained from high throughput screens are a starting point and require rigorous follow up assessment including evaluation of resynthesized compound, validation in a distinct secondary assay, and assessing the quality of the hit to rule out, for example, promiscuous electrophilic compounds or redox active compounds known as PAINS. Also reasonable common are hits that inhibit enzyme activity through compounds aggregating to form microscopic colloids that inhibit or inactivate compounds. ​

• For a review on problematic hits and ways to confirm the quality of hits.

• For a more specific discussion on the problem of PAINS and how to identify these.

• For a discussion on the problem of compound aggregators and how to identify these by prediction.

​​How-to Guides

• Using MScreen

Media 

Pictures, videos, and PowerPoint template available for download and use.