1. Scientific and technical eligibility
Service requests are accepted when the requested analyses:
- Align with the group’s expertise and EMBRC’s mission in marine ecology, biodiversity, and environmental change.
- Support a clear scientific objective, typically within ecological, physiological, or biogeochemical research.
- Involve analytes measurable with laboratory workflows established within the EMBRC+ Core facility. If protocol adjustments are required, these will involve an additional cost and a test phase.
- Can be processed within the group’s analytical and personnel capacity and within the requested timeframe after a planning check, an alternative deadline can be suggested.
- Requests beyond our current analytical scope may be redirected to other core facilities within UGent.
2. Sample quality and documentation (in case of chemical and molecular analyses)
To guarantee analytical integrity, all submitted samples must:
- Be properly preserved, labelled, and accompanied by a complete sample list (clear codes) and metadata (taxon, collection site and date, preservation method, storage temperature, experimental treatment, scientific objective).
- Be accompanied by the required collection or transfer permits.
- Include safety information if preservatives or chemicals were used.
- Meet minimum material requirements for the intended analysis (detection limits).
- Be in good condition without degradation or contamination.
3. Regulatory and ethical compliance
All material must comply with relevant Belgian and international regulations (e.g., ABS, Nagoya Protocol, CITES, biosafety).
A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) or Service Agreement must be signed prior to analysis.
4. Access and cost recovery
Services can be requested by using the application form in the Core Facility Management Software platform (CFMS platform). Register via the CFMS platform to access the services (https://cfms.ugent.be/).
Priority is given to UGent internal users and EMBRC-affiliated and collaborative academic projects (e.g. Transnational Access projects). External users (academic or industrial users) can request analyses as well.
Users may be involved in the analyses or receive laboratory training when the project involves a substantial number of samples and sufficient on-site presence at lab to ensure efficient use of staff time and resources.
All analyses follow a predefined internal cost model. While the detailed pricing structure is not publicly available, indicative costs can be provided upon request.
5. Acknowledgement
Data sharing and authorship conditions will be defined before analysis begins.
To ensure funding and continuation of the facility, acknowledgements are essential as they are used as a measure for the impact of the facility. Here you can find templates for acknowledgements in your publications:
- Materials and methods: "____________ was performed by the EMBRC+ Core facility at Ghent University (Belgium)"
- Acknowledgements: " The research leading to results presented in this publication was carried out with infrastructure from the EMBRC+ Core facility at Ghent University (Belgium).