The Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) Support Core provides USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (NCCC) researchers with glassware washing/sterilizing services and shared equipment purchase/ maintenance to support their molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular epidemiology experiments. The MCB Support Core: 1) washes/sterilizes glassware for individual research laboratories, and for the Bioreagent and Cell Culture Core for preparation of sterile culture media;2) prepares doubly deionized, distilled water in large quantities for preparation of reagents for molecular biology, cell biology, and biochemistry experiments;3) supervises/maintains all shared equipment;4) negotiates/administers service contracts for shared, heavily-used, expensive pieces of lab equipment (ECL-Western apparatus, phosphorimagers, ultracentrifuges. X-ray film developers, liquid scintillation counters, shared fluorescent microscopes);5) provides centralized supplies, including carbon dioxide, liquid nitrogen, and dry ice to NCCC labs;6) maintains freezers, refrigerators, balances, and spectrophotometers in individual labs;and 7) assesses needs/makes recommendations for purchase of new shared equipment/services. The Glassware Facilities of the MCB Support Core are located at four sites: Ezralow Tower (1,300 sq. ft., three autoclaves, three glassware washers), Harlyne Norris Research Tower (HNRT, 1,600 sq. ft., four glassware washers, three autoclaves). Cancer Research Laboratories (CRL, 1,000 sq. ft., one autoclave, one glassware washer), and Smith Research Tower at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA, 1,000 sq. ft., one autoclave, one glassware washer). This shared resource serves 94 Cancer Center members and their research groups, 500 scientists/technical staff total. The CCSG supports 4.0 FTE glassware technicians;another two are supported by chargebacks. The MCB Support Core is supervised by Dr. Joseph R. Landolph, Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. Mr. Kent Chang manages the Norris Headquarters and CRL. Dr. Ambrose Jong supervises CHLA facilities. In 2008, we occupied the 103,000 n.s.f. HNRT, housing 40 new Pis. As a result, this MCB Support Core has experienced a very large increased demand for services beginning in 2008 and continuing to the present time.
The MCB Support Core supports research of NCCC members in molecular mechanisms of DNA repair, molecular mechanisms of DNA methylation, and molecular mechanisms of prostate tumor formation, among many research projects. Understanding these processes can lead to novel ways and new drugs to control these processes and thereby to reduce/prevent tumor formation in humans.
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