Scientific progress depends on both the inspiration and hard work of individuals, and an active community of scientists and institutions that provides essential resources and serves as a sounding board. To build the stem cell community further and ensure that investigators have access to state-of-the-art technology beyond the capacity of individual labs or institutions, the Empire State Stem Cell Board allocated funds for core facilities through Shared Facilities and Equipment awards. This mechanism funds specialized laboratories to isolate, derive and characterize stem cell lines, including disease specific cell lines; development of animal models; high-throughput analyses of cells; and routine material support for stem cell experiments. The resulting facilities and the instrumentation are critical for meeting the needs of researchers, advancing stem cell research, and further building the collaborative stem cell community in New York State.
- Pluripotent Stem Cell Facilities
- Specialized Stem Cell Facilities
- Shared Equipment and Imaging Facilities
NYSTEM 2010 Annual Meeting:
Shared Facilities Workshop
(Pluripotent Stem Cell Facilities)
Pluripotent Stem Cell Facilities
Lorenz Studer, MDThe SKI Stem Cell Research Facility
Sloan-Kettering Institute
The SKI Stem Cell Research Facility currently provides four key services to the stem cell community: 1) a human pluripotent stem cell repository; 2) teaching human pluripotent stem cell culture basics; 3) directing the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells; 4) genetic manipulation of human pluripotent stem cells. With regard to the latter goal, we helped pioneer the use of bacterial artificial chromosomes in human pluripotent stem cells and we continue to refine the technique and provide support to other interested laboratories. We are currently developing a fifth service: a high-throughput screening module.
Website: stemcells.mskcc.org
Contact: Mark Tomishima, PhD
Ihor Lemischka, PhD
Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) Core at Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
The NYSTEM-funded, human embryonic stem cell (hESC)/induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) Shared Resource Facility (SRF) was established with the goal to promote hESC/iPSC research. The hESC SRF regularly conducts classes to teach iPSCs generation and hESC/iPSC differentiation into the lineage of choice. Scientists are also provided with tested stem cell reagents at vastly discounted pricing. To further the development of iPSC technology, the hESC/iPSC SRF is working to bring the latest innovations in the stem cell field to the scientific community to aid in the creation of a large number of transgene-free patient-specific iPSCs lines and differentiated lineages.
Website: www.mssm.edu/research/resources/shared-resource-facilities/human-embryonic-stem-cell
Contact: Sunita D'Souza, PhD
Scott Noggle, PhD
Shared Facility for Derivation, Distribution and Translational Research with Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
The New York Stem Cell Foundation
The NYSCF stem cell research laboratory opened its doors on March 1, 2006. To date, many major projects have been initiated within the NYSCF laboratory, including disease modeling for diabetes, cardiac disease, Schizophrenia, and several neurodegenerative diseases as well as efforts to engineer functional bone grafts. Importantly, we continue to explore new methods for generating human embryonic stem cell lines from normal and diseased embryos by a variety of techniques, including somatic cell nuclear transfer and parthenogenesis. We are also deriving a bank of iPS cell lines, including a range of disease-specific lines, and exploring better methods for derivation, quality control and characterization. NYSCF also holds regular training courses in the derivation, characterization and maintenance of pluripotent stem cells.
Website: http://lab.nyscf.org/
Contact: Scott Noggle, PhD
John Schimenti, PhD
Cornell Mammalian Cell Reprogramming Core
Cornell University
The Core has 2 aims. One is the Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPS) Core Laboratory, dedicated to performing a variety of services related to iPS cell line derivation from laboratory rodents and veterinary animals. To this end, the Cornell iPS core offers retroviral vectors for reprogramming somatic cells to pluripotency, established iPS cell lines, and a variety of services related to the characterization of the pluripotent state. The second aim is dedicated to modern high throughput genomic analyses. A "next generation" Illumina DNA sequencer was installed, and a dedicated bioinformatician was hired to help scientists interpret the vast amounts of data generated by analysis and characterization of stem cells and their derivatives.
Website: http://www.stemcell.cornell.edu/scp-iPS.cfm
Contact: John Schimenti, PhD
Eric Bouhassira, PhD
Einstein Comprehensive Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Center
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
The Stem Cell Center consists of a Pluripotent Stem Cell Unit, a Stem Cell Genomic Unit, and a Xenotransplant Unit. The Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Unit provides hESC plates and reagents, produces iPS, and offers a variety of cell differentiation and phenotyping services.The Human Stem Cell Genomic Unit provides assistance to scientists in the analysis of their Genomic data, produced by various platforms such as micro-arrays, or DNA massively-parallel sequencing.One achievement of the unit is the development of an interface called GenePlay, which allows users to visualize their genomic data as well as to perform a large range of treatments on these data.The Xenotransplant Unit is equipped with two FACSAria II with an operator and an animal technologist. This Unit provides dedicated flow cytometry services for primary human stem cells and transplantation of human stem cells in mice.
Website: www.einstein.yu.edu/sr/stemcell
Contact: Eric Bouhassira, PhD
Ali Brivanlou, PhD
Shared Facilities and Resources for Stem Cell Research at The Rockefeller University and Weill Cornell Medical College
The Rockefeller University/Weill Cornell Medical College
At The Rockefeller University, Core Facility 1 followed the derivation of new hESC lines, RUES3 (Rockefeller University Embryonic Stem Cell Line 3), with the design of a genetically engineered human somatic fibroblast cell line that will be used as a platform for compounds screens. At Weill Cornell Medical College, Core Facility 2 progressed in pre-clinical experiments to set the stage for human trials, with advances made for clinical scale generation of hESC-derived endothelial cells and hematopoietic cells. Core Facility 3 at The Rockefeller University Core progressed in chemical genetic screens to identify compounds able to direct differentiation towards neural lineages. Core Facility 4 at Weill Cornell established a stem cell metabolite profiling facility to service the needs of investigators.
Website: http://rues.rockefeller.edu
Contact:Ali Brivanlou, PhD
Specialized Stem Cell Facilities
Sally Temple, PhD
NeuraCell
Regenerative Research Foundation
Neuracell is a core facility that enables research in the neural stem cell (NSC) field. Our group has over 20 years of experience studying NSCs, and through this core facility we are able to share our expertise and lab products to other researchers. We can provide NSCs and specialized NSC culture media that we have developed in house. In addition, we can supply specialized molecular tools such as custom lentiviral shRNA and over expression vectors optimized for NSCs, and some NSC-relevant antibodies. Neuracell has a consultation and characterization service, in which we assess how specific products or reagents affect stem cell performance and behavior. A general list of services is provided on the website.
Website: http://www.nstemcell.org/index.php/site/NeuraCellBank/
Contact: Christopher Fasano, PhD
Tel: 518-694-8188
Shared Equipment And Imaging Facilities*
Gordana Vunjak Novakovic PhD
Stem Cell Functional Imaging Core
Columbia University
The Columbia University Functional Imaging Core is a state-of-the-art facility that enables imaging studies for a variety of stem cell-related research areas. The equipment consists of a top-of-the-line Leica confocal / two-photon microscope, the CRi Maestro II small animal imaging system, an automated microplate reader, a live µCT imaging system, a high-throughput proteomics device, and an automated histology facility for tissue processing and embedding. The core is located at Columbia´s Morningside campus, and the space comprises equipment, imaging, cell culture and freezer rooms. Access is available to everyone for a per-usage fee, and booking is done via an on-line scheduling system.
Website: http://www.bme.columbia.edu/gvnweb/nystem.htm
Contact:Nebo Mirkovic, PhD
Tel: 212-305-5755 Fax: 212-305-4692
Lewis M. Brown, PhD
Comparative Proteomics Center
Columbia University
At the Comparative Proteomics Center, we study proteins with differential occurrence in cells, tissues or affinity purified samples. NYSTEM funding with matching funds from Columbia allowed us to acquire a NanoAcquity liquid chromatograph and a Synapt QTOF mass spectrometer. This equipment allows us to use a label-free technique for mass spectrometry-based proteomics. The versatile, sensitive methodology allows flexible experimental design, and is ideally suited to stem cell biology, and has been used effectively in several stem cell studies that we have completed.
Website:http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/resources/proteomics/
Contact:Lewis M. Brown, PhD
Tel: 212-854-4470
David Spector, PhD
Confocal Microscope
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
The confocal microscope purchased through NYSTEM funds allows CSHL scientists to visualize stem cells labeled with fluorescent dyes in order to estimate the number of stem cells, to observe the movement of stem cells and to observe differentiation of stem cells into specialized cells in living organisms.
Website: Not available
Contact:David Spector, PhD
Tel: 516-367-8456 Fax: 516-367-8876