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Core Facilities
  Core Description
Cell & Tissue Procurement Core This core is under the direction of Dr. Palucka and core lab manager Lynnette Walters, who has 15+ years of research & clinical laboratory experience. This core receives patient blood samples, which are processed, phenotyped and frozen. The samples are blinded using accession numbers and entered into a database. The core also processes volunteer and patient apheresis, generating WBC specific fractions. These fractions can be used in research experiments or vaccine production. Tissue samples, such as melanoma samples are also received in this core and cultured to establish cell lines for research.
Clinical Trials Office Investigators may conduct funded clinical trials entirely through the Clinical Trials Office, while maintaining responsibility for the project, or the office can provide services tailored to the investigators’ specific needs.
COBAS TaqMan 48 Analyzer Automated real-time amplification and detection of DNA or RNA, Hepatitis C virus result range:  10 - 50,000,000 IU/mL, Hepatitis B virus result range:  
10 - 110,000,000 IU/mL, HIV result range:  40 - 10,000,000 copies/mL.

For more information, contact Rana Saad, Ph.D.
COBAS AmpliPrepTM System Fully automated system designed to streamline the sample preparation, steps of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing for analysis, on the COBAS AMPLICOR™ Analyzer. The system isolates RNA or DNA, targets for PCR using solution-phase probe capture or generic capture, with silico-coated glass particles

For more information, contact Rana Saad, Ph.D.
Flow Cytometry Under the direction of Dr. Palucka, the facility is managed by a senior Research Assistant, Elizabeth Kraus, with nearly 20 years of experience in Flow Cytometry. The facility includes:

– FACSVantageTM with turbo sort and three lasers
– Two FACSCalibursTM with two lasers
– FACSARIATTM with three lasers to analyze up to thirteen parameters
Gene Expression This facility is under the direction of Dr. Chaussabel and includes

– Prism® 7900HT Realtime PCR
– Affymetryx Suite which includes an Agilent Analyzer, a complete Affymetryx GCS300 Scanner Workstation and a AIMS system utilizing an Oracle database.
– Illumina BeadStation 500X multi-sample gene expression system featuring microarrays configured for whole genome or custom focused gene sets.
Genetic Diseases Hereditary hemochromatosis

For more information, contact Rana Saad, Ph.D.
GMP Cell Core Dr. Palucka directs this facility, which is managed by Susan Burkeholder, a senior technician with over 20 years of cell culture experience and six years of GMP manufacturing. Currently, the facility is approximately 300 square feet with two biosafety cabinets and 14 incubators. Given the success of our Cell Therapy program, we are in the process of designing and building a considerably larger facility. This facility has released 360 DC vaccines that have been administered to patients. The cell core has been successfully FDA inspected.
Hematopathology T cell receptor gamma gene rearrangement by PCR, B cell receptor heavy chain gene rearrangement by PCR, BCL2/JH gene translocation t(14;18) by PCR,  BCR/ABL translocation t(9;22) by RT-PCR, PML/RARA translocation t(15;17) by RT-PCR, Pre-transplant STR analysis – Recipient or Donor, Post-transplant bone marrow engraftment analysis-fractionated, Post-transplant bone marrow engraftment analysis-non-fractionated, Chimerism analysis-Post solid organ transplantation, FLT3 gene mutation by PCR, JAK2 V617F mutation by PCR, XX/XY in opposite sex BM TX by FISH, BCR/ABL translocation t(9;22) by FISH, PML/RARA translocation t(15;17) by FISH

For more information, contact Rana Saad, Ph.D.
Infectious Diseases HSV DNA quantitative by real-time PCR, EBV DNA quantitative by real-time PCR, CMV DNA quantitative by real-time PCR, VZV DNA qualitative by real-time PCR, HHV6 DNA quantitative by real-time PCR, HHV7 DNA qualitative by real-time PCR, HHV8 DNA qualitative by real-time PCR, Parvovirus B19 DNA qualitative by real-time PCR, HCV RNA qualitative by TMA, HCV RNA quantitative by bDNA, West Nile virus RNA by RT-PCR, BK virus DNA quantitative by real-time PCR, BK virus DNA qualitative by real-time PCR, JC virus DNA qualitative by real-time PCR

For more information, contact Rana Saad, Ph.D.
Imaging Core The facility is managed by a senior research assistant, Sandra Clayton, with twenty years of experience in microscopy. The facility includes:

– LEICA SP-1 confocal microscope 
– Arcturus Pixcell Laser microdissector 
– Digital imaging system composed of two fluorescent microscopes (upright and inverted) allowing live cell imaging as well as analysis of whole mouse sections as pioneered by Dr. M. Jenkins 
– Post-imaging analysis workstation equipped with the Meta-morph software for image deconvolution and 3D rendering 
– Xenogen's IVIS® Imaging System, luciferase-based equipment that allows imaging within living animals 
– Immunospot Analyzer
Immunomonitoring Core Dr. Hideki Ueno directs this core facility, which performs flow cytometry, ELISA, ELISPOT, CTL assays and EPIMAX. Developed at BRI, EPIMAX is a non-destructive assay that is used to measure immune responses:

– across HLA haplotypes. 
– towards many antigens, allowing the analysis of a broad melanoma-specific repertoire.
– by multiplex analysis of secreted cytokines, allowing the identification of the type of induced specific immunity.
– and allows assessment of specific proliferation, thus addressing the quality of elicited T cells.
Luminex Core Under Dr. Connolly's direction, this core is supported by the NIAID-BIIR Center. We measure cytokines, while initially relying on commercial kits that need to be validated, the core will eventually develop its own assays as dictated by the findings of BRI investigators.
Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Core Under Development
Monoclonal Antibody Core Under the direction of Dr. Zurawski, this core includes three research assistants. Currently, the core has generated mouse monoclonal antibodies to human interferon-alpha as a potential treatment of SLE. A large panel of monoclonal antibodies specific to human DC subsets is being prepared.
Solid Tumors HER2/neu oncogene amplification by FISH, Bladder cancer recurrence monitoring, UroVysion by FISH, LOH for 1p/19q for oligodendrogliomas by PCR, MSI analysis for HNPCC/Lynch syndrome by PCR.

For more information, contact Rana Saad, Ph.D.
Statistics & Data Management Core The Biostatistics Group provides core biostatistical support to researchers across the Baylor Health Care System. It is comprised of five (3 PhD and 3 MSc) staff with academic qualifications in biostatistics and experience in a wide range of biomedical investigations, from basic scientific to clinical/translational to health services research.

Support is provided for the design of experiments (including power and sample size analyses), formulation of research hypotheses into quantitative terms, provision of randomization schedules and bias controlling logistics (e.g. blinding), statistical analyses of data, and presentation and interpretation of results (including text, tables, and graphs).  In addition to scientific collaborations, IHCRI statisticians offer their quantitative expertise in support of efforts to improve operational processes in many areas across the Baylor Health Care System.