The goal of the Microarray Shared Facility is to provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art genomic analysis technologies to Cancer Center investigators. In accomplish this, the Microarray Shared Facility (MSF) provides whole genome and targeted gene expression analysis, high- and low-throughput whole genome and custom genotyping, whole genome methylation analysis, and targeted sequencing analysis to Cancer Center members and university investigators at large. The MSF was formerly the Gene Expression Shared Facility, and has both focused it's mission and extended access to core technologies related to the largescale analysis of gene expression. The facility has recently been expanded to include the iScan and BeadXpress systems from lllumina in order to complement the existing Affymetrix GeneChip system, which is comprised of the Affymetrix 3000 7G scanner with an autoloader, two FS450 fluidics stations and two Hyb 640 hybridization ovens. Because changes in technology can complicate comparison to previous studies, the MSF facility has the capacity to perform whole genome genotyping, copy number variation analysis, and gene expression microarrays on multiple systems in order to accommodate the needs of Cancer Center investigators who may have committed to working with one platform or another. In addition, we can perform microRNA profiling and whole genome methylation profiling using a Chromatin-IP protocol followed by hybridization on the human or mouse promoter chip (ChlP-Chip). The addition of the new platforms will provide Cancer Center members and university researchers several options when considering experimental design and data analysis. Together, our research team and laboratory resources will provide the necessary expertise and cutting-edge technology to support the proposed molecular studies described in this Comprehensive Cancer Center proposal.
The ability to analyze changes in gene and in gene expression rapidly is critical in order to understand the differences between cancer cells and normal tissue, and even among different cancer types that affect the same tissues (e.g. the many forms of breast or lung cancer). Genomic analysis is important in identifying genomic events associated with tumor initiation or progression, defining tumor types, and predicting response to therapies.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 747 publications