The Research Complex at Harwell is a multidisciplinary laboratory that provides facilities for researchers to undertake new and cutting edge scientific research in both life and physical sciences and the interface between them. The UK’s Central Laser Facility operates two facilities in the Research Complex: ULTRA, offering multiple ultrafast pump-probe vibrational spectroscopy techniques, and Octopus, a cluster of advanced optical imaging instrumentation including sub-diffraction limit imaging, single molecule techniques, optical tweezers and FLIM/FRET microscopy. The facilities are supported by a multidisciplinary team of scientists, and are available free at the point of access to the academic community, via an open peer-review process. Dave will give an overview of the ULTRA and Octopus facilities, and Marisa will present data showing the application of some of the techniques available in Octopus to her research into the Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Family, a group of cell-surface receptor tyrosine kinases that play a fundamental role in regulation of cellular metabolism, growth and differentiation.