The
goal of the Research Core Facility is to provide the capability of analyzing
biological materials using advanced technologies. A major roadblock too many
of these technologies is the initial histologic processing of biological materials.
In order to obtain the greatest utility of these materials, the Histology
and Tissue Resources Core Facility will provide a seamless service, from initial
processing to final analysis. This Facility is necessary because the Clinical
Histology Laboratory in the Dept. of Pathology has a heavy service load
and is understaffed, and consequently it is not able to provide support for
research projects. Thus, we propose to provide the following histological
services to all Investigators, for tissue processing, paraffin embedding and
sectioning, frozen tissue embedding and sectioning, routine staining, and
immunohistochemical detection of antigens of interest. Although turn-around
times may vary depending on workload, the primary goal of this Facility is
to return completed work to the Investigator within 2 to 7 working days. Processing
of tissues is performed in existing laboratory space within the Dept.
of Cellular Biology and Anatomy (Room B8-303) for paraffin embedding, sectioning
and routine staining is carried out in a laboratory of 600 square feet. This
laboratory is subdivided into several small rooms including one with an automatic
tissue processing machine, one for histochemistry and storage of paraffin
blocks, and a main laboratory with a microtome, a cryostat and a staining
area. An electron microscopy is housed in an adjacent room. A 300 sq. ft laboratory
(Room B8.204) will be dedicated to tissue processing, and is fully equipped
with a biosafety hood, refrigerator-freezer, inverted microscope, and CO2
incubator. The Facility has the equipment for immunohistochemistry (Room B8.204),
including microwave and baking ovens and an automated histochemical processor.
In addition, a tissue array apparatus is available for making arrays from
paraffin blocks. A -150°C freezer is available for use for permanent storage
of vials of snap-frozen tissue, and a -80°C Revco freezer is available
for permanent storage of cryopreserved tissue blocks.
Core Facilities
Histology
and Tissue Resource
Vector
Morphology
Fluorescence
Microscopy
Confocal Microscopy
Flow Cytometry
Mass Spectrometry/Proteomics
Automated Cellular Imaging System
Genomics
Real-time
PCR
Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM)
DNA Array Analysis
Animal Imaging
MicroPET
Imaging System
MicroCT Imaging System
Bioluminescence/
Fluorescence Imaging