Mission of the Laboratory Sciences Core
The Tennessee Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is located in the Southeastern US, the region with both the greatest number of new HIV-1 infections, and of persons living with HIV. This CFAR’s institutional and community environment is rich in opportunity, and with a culture of engagement and collaboration. Vanderbilt has a rich traditional of trans-institutional collaboration, and has long prioritized institutional support for shared core facilities. This has created a wide range of institutional cores to support basic and clinical research, and that are equally available to investigators at Vanderbilt University and Meharry Medical College. These include two state-of-the-art resources centrally relevant to HIV/AIDS, for genomics and for immunology. The LSC will provide leadership and services designed to dramatically increase the ability of HIV investigators most effectively take advantage of these resources, and in so doing provide immense added value to HIV researchers at Vanderbilt University and Meharry Medical College.
Specific Aims of the Laboratory Sciences Core
1. To provide concierge level service for genomics research relevant to HIV/AIDS.
Sub-aims include:
- To provide HIV investigators with direction and consultation for study design, implementation, and analysis so that they may effectively utilize VU’s shared genomic technologies.
- To work with HIV investigators to adapt viral and human genomics assays and methodologies to meet their needs, and support studies of interactions between host and viral genomic variants.
2. To provide expertise, consultation, assay performance, and training in immunology techniques including those that require BL3 procedures.
Sub-aims include:
- To provide HIV investigators with direction and consultation in study design and implementation of state-of-the-art assays to measure phenotype and function of cell subsets relevant to HIV/AIDS.
- To quantitate HIV protein and nucleic acid in plasma samples and in vitro culture.
Services offered by the Laboratory Sciences Core
- Genomics Workshops to introduce the Laboratory Sciences Core Concierge and Available Genomics Technology Resources.
- Genomics Studio Sessions for HIV Investigators.
- CFAR Genomics Clinics.
- Training of core users.
- “Flow Cytometry 101”
- Availability of CyTOF.
- HIV-1 p24 ELISA assay.
- Sensitive HIV PCR assays.
Contacts
Tennessee-CFAR (Tennessee-CFAR@vanderbilt.edu)
Phone: 615-343-8776