Shared Resources
The UF Health Cancer Center strives to provide cancer scientists with state-of-the-art technology and expertise to foster and facilitate outstanding cancer research.
Flow Cytometry and Confocal Microscopy Shared Resource (CYT-SR)
Director:
Andria Doty, Ph.D.
Mission:
The mission of the Flow Cytometry and Confocal Microscopy Shared Resource (CYT-SR) is to provide UF Health Cancer Center members with easy access to cost- effective, cutting-edge cytometry instrumentation, novel methodologies and data analysis expertise, and facilitate instrument self-use through comprehensive user training.
Program Aims:
- Provide access to cost effective, state-of-the-art flow cytometry analysis and sorting and live cell confocal microscopy services.
- Provide training leading to certification in self-use of flow and confocal microscopy instruments.
- Provide consultation on experiment design, assistance with data interpretation and support for scientific publications and research grant applications.
- Identify and evaluate new instrumentation and ensure alignment of instrument capabilities with user needs based upon end-user and faculty surveys and recommendations from the CYT-SR Scientific Advisory Group.
Major Services:
- Multi-parameter flow cytometry
- Confocal microscopy with live cell imaging
- Microparticle analysis n Expert consultations in experiment design and preparation of research grant applications
- Instrument training, courses and workshops
Next Generation Sequencing Shared Resource (NGS-SR)
Director:
David Moraga, Ph.D.
Mission:
The mission of the Next Generation Sequencing Shared Resource (NGS-SR) is to provide members with easy access to cost-effective state-of-the-art NGS services to support research activities.
Program Aims:
- Provide ready access to cost-effective, state-of-the-art next-generation sequencing technologies and instrumentation as well as highly skilled technical staff to support research programs.
- Provide expert consultation on effective use of NGS technologies, assistance with data interpretation, and support for scientific publications and research grant applications.
- Ensure rigor and reproducibility of all research conducted at NGS-SR through the use of standard operating procedures, continuous staff training, monitoring instrument performance metrics, and appropriate data handling, transfer and storage.
- Lead efforts to acquire new instrumentation and develop and validate new methodologies to expand capabilities and expertise in NGS-SR to meet growing demands of membership.
Major Services:
- Massively parallel, high- throughput whole genome sequencing
- Library prep for genomic DNA/exome analysis, epigenetics, microbiome studies and RNA-sequencing
- Expert consultations in effective use of NGS technologies
- Collaboration with the Biostatistics and Quantitative Sciences Shared Resource for streamlined data analysis of large-scale genomic datasets
- Instrument training and workshops
Biostatistics and Quantitative Sciences Shared Resource (BQS-SR)
Director:
Ji-Hyun Lee, DrPH
Mission:
The mission of the Biostatistics and Quantitative Sciences Shared Resource (BQS-SR) is to promote rigorous and reproducible statistical and quantitative sciences for research.
Program Aims:
- Provide biostatistical and quantitative assistance to members for the design of studies, development of grant proposals, analysis of data, publication and dissemination of findings.
- Provide consultations and collaborate in the development and evaluation of innovative methodologies, data collection, and processing tools, and to select/develop analytic software appropriate for study objectives pertaining to cancer informatics and electronic medical-record data.
- Enhance transdisciplinary research and team science through coordination with other shared resources and facilitating collaborations among faculty.
- Support the Cancer Center Clinical Research Office, thereby ensuring high quality of science, data integrity, and patient safety in clinical cancer research.
- Educate members, staff, and trainees in current “best practices” and uses of biostatistics, bioinformatics and health informatics to ensure rigorous and reproducible research.
Major Services:
- Biostatistics Support:
- Conceptualization of a research project
- Oversight for data collection and data management
- Reproducible statistical analysis
- Assistance in grant preparation, manuscript writing, and report generation
- Bioinformatics/Health Informatics/Computational Biology Support:
- Consulting for “omics” and health informatics
- Analysis and annotation of high-throughput genomic assays
- Assistance in the development of bioinformatics components
- Development of analysis tools and pipelines for high-performance computing environments
- Data integration and mining in health informatics
- Web-interface and database programming for clinical and administrative data
- Manipulation of large observational databases
- Training in biostatistics and bioinformatics through the series of seminars and short courses
Developing Shared Resources
eHealth
Cancer informatics is where information science, computer science and health care intersect. It is about acquiring, storing and using information about cancer in the most thorough and efficient manner. eHealth is an emerging field in the intersection of biomedical informatics, computer science, health communication, public health and health care delivery, referring to health services and information delivered or enhanced through the Internet and related technologies, such as mobile-based apps.
Gene Editing/CRISPR
CRISPR technology facilitates the precise editing of targeted regions of mammalian genomes and remains one of the key recent advances in biotechnology. The CRISPR technology core offers Cancer Center researchers with access to expertise in Cas9-mediated gene engineering in mammalian cells as well as custom services for CRISPR-based whole-genome phenotypic screens.
Drug Screening
The drug screening core has the capability to run medium-to high-throughput screens (96- and 384-well plate format) and experienced personnel to miniaturize assays. Assay platforms include biochemical assays using colorimetric, fluorescence and ultra-sensitive luminescence outputs including assays designed to quantify protein concentration and protein-protein interactions using the AlphaLISA technology.