The Flow Cytometry Core (Core B) has four major goals. Its primary function is to provide state of the art equipment and expertise for flow cytometric analysis of cellular antigen expression, function, metabolism and signaling thereby supporting cardiovascular research in diabetes and obesity at the University of Louisville. Core B personnel are highly-experienced investigators who have worked for several years on flow cytometry using various tissues and cells from multiple species and have extensive expertise in rare event analysis. The complementary nature of their backgrounds and areas of expertise, coupled with their collegial nature, provides a strong foundation for productive synergy within this Core and its productive interactions with other investigators in the DOC, at the UofL and with collaborative interactions with other Institutes. Secondly, the Core is committed to an educational goal. Not only will all users be trained on the operation of instruments, it is the intent that these users completely understand cytometric theory, application, and data analysis. Through hands-on training and educational presentations, it is hoped that all current and future users will be able to competently incorporate flow cytometry as an analytical tool. Third, the Core is committed to developing its scope and operation to support multidimensional flow cytometry needs in the future. It will continue to upgrade its equipment and analytical repertoire. Finally, this Core has the ultimate goal of developing into a self-supporting and large-scale flow cytometry operation that will cater not only to the specific needs of the Center but to other University and extramural investigators interested in diabetes and obesity research. A fully developed Flow Cytometry Core will be a significant asset in developing future multi-investigator projects and for helping researchers conduct multifaceted basic and clinical investigations aimed at the amelioration of health hazards caused by diabetes and obesity.
