[mbreese]

You may not need exclusive access to one, which is why a lot of institutions setup "centers" for this type of work (center for visualization, for example). Then multiple people can share the equipment and cost - if you can recruit people with a similar research focus. So, you may not need one exclusively, but you do need one locally available.

[dougabug]

Seems like many samples could be prepared locally and shipped to the analysis center ala Netflix. Another possibility would be making samples to order at a location near where the necessary equipment is located. For instance, I need a brain tissue sample from xxx type of mouse, infected with pathogen yyyy.