This core consists of three components: microarray, cell storage, and shared equipment. The microarray component will utilize the microarray facility at the Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health located adjacent to the main University of Washington campus. The facility will help the Center investigators to perform gene expression profiling studies using both cDNA and oligonucleotide microarrays. It provides experimental design consultation, RNA quality control, probe labeling, hybridization, and scanning services to the Center investigators. It also provides bioinformatics resources, including several software programs for data analyses. This component is well staffed. It consists of a coordinator, Dr. Philip Mirkes, Research Professor of Pediatrics, Microarray Laboratory Director Dr. Fred Farin, microarray design and analysis coordinator Dr. Theo Bammler, Microarray Research Scientist Sean Quigley, and Bioinformatics Consultant Dr. Richard Beyer. The cell storage facility consists of a liquid nitrogen tank with a capacity of 25,000 vials. It is for the Center investigators to store fibroblast and lymphoblast cell lines derived from patients and relatives with rare genetic diseases. It has a computerized log of all cell lines for the investigators to keep track of the location and usage of the cell lines. The shared equipment component contains several large pieces of equipment, including an ABI Prism 310 Genetic Analyzer for genotyping and sequencing, the Varian Helix dHPLC system for the detection and analysis of single base pair mutations, a new Mini-Med film processor. It also houses several pieces of basic laboratory equipment, such as ultra and high speed centrifuges, orbital shaker, drying oven, X-ray cross linker, gel dryer, vacuum concentrators, water distill, deionizer, spectrophotometer, a Bio-Rad Gel Doc 2000, and a Bio-Rad Gene Pulser II. The cell storage and shared equipment components are maintained and coordinated by Dr. Thomas Cotner, Research Associated Professor of Pediatrics. A total of 27 Center investigators and 37 projects are listed to use the various components of the core.
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