The Flow Cytometry Core (FCC), in existence since 1982, is a state-of-the-art shared resource that provides Cancer Center investigators access to high quality, cost effective flow cytometry services and technology. The facility occupies approximately 1850 sq. ft. within the Cancer Center wing in Jordan Hall. By providing a variety of instrumentation and the scientific expertise necessary to effectively use these technologies, the facility serves to enhance the scope and quality of cancer research performed at the University. The FCC incorporates a variety of technologies into its services based on the needs of the Cancer Center investigators. The instrumentation available is compatible wide array of flow cytometric applications such as subpopulation identification/quantification, molecular detection, measurement of DNA and RNA content, apoptosis, transcriptional activity, cell viability, membrane potential, cell sorting, and bead based immunoassays. The FCC provides cell sorting in enclosed Biosafety Cabinets to allow for the safe sorting of primary human samples, as well as retro/lentivirally transfected cells. The sorters are capable of up to 17 parameters, with six- way, single cell and index sorting capabilities for downstream single cell genomics assays. The recent addition of the CyTOF2 mass cytometer, through joint funding from the President's office and several departments/centers, allows major advancements in the evaluation of highly dimensional biological systems to unravel the complexity of cancers and their associated immune responses. The imaging flow cytometry services provide additional capabilities for evaluating a variety of measurements at the single cell level, with high throughput and statistical robustness. Direct collaborations with Cancer Center investigators have produced novel methods and approaches for studying cancer that have been published. The services and expertise offered by the FCC play a key role in the study of many types of cancer, as well as the immune responses to cancers. The FCC staff is highly qualified with many years of experience and are all certified by the International Cytometry Certification Exam (ICCE). In addition to providing training on the instrumentation, FCC staff provide consultation in experimental design, sample preparation and data analysis. The facility has recently added a bio-analysis specialist to assist Cancer Center investigators with unraveling the complexity of the data generated in the core. Specialized training classes are offered for those researchers who wish to better understand the principles and techniques employed in this technology and prefer to directly acquire and/or analyze their own samples. Researchers have the option, once trained, of performing their own analysis or they can choose to utilize the expertise of the FCC's staff to run their samples for them.
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