Overview
The Clinical Genomics Facility (CGF), formerly Microarray and Analysis Shared Services (MASS), is a comprehensive set of integrated gene expression services that facilitate studying the role of genomic alterations and transcriptional regulation of genes in human diseases. The high throughput methodologies utilized in the CGF are closely linked to other institutional core laboratories like the Basic Genomics and Proteomics Facility (BGPF), the Clinical Proteomics Facility (CPF), and Cancer Informatics Services (CIS), thereby providing a rich and integrated platform for basic and translational research at UPCI. The CGF provides support and consultation for every step involved in a microarray experiment with human tissues, spanning from experimental design to data analysis. The CGF also works closely with the tissue banking component of the Tissue and Research Pathology Services (TARPS), which allows the Facility to provide a complete set of services for genotyping, gene expression studies, and other related genomic techniques.
The goal of the CGF is to focus on clinical and translational research needs and, in the longer term, to pursue developing into a Good Laboratory Practices facility (GLP) for large scale population-based studies of promising cancer biomarkers to improve detection, prediction of prognosis, and treatment of human neoplasms. The primary objective is to assist UPCI researchers in translating genomic research discoveries into clinical applications. The CGF provides a powerful environment for developing new diagnostic algorithms to predict aggressive tumors, identify potential therapeutic targets, and monitor responses to therapy.
The services offered by CGF currently include:
- DNA and RNA extraction services, including FFPET samples, and sample quantitation and quality analysis.
- Hybridization and scanning of miRNA arrays from Exiqon and Agilent. This service is currently in development, please inquire. New!
- Hybridization and scanning of commercially produced Gene Expression oligonucleotide arrays from Affymetrix GeneChip™ platform. Please inquire about Applied Microarrays Codelink™ platforms.
- Hybridization and scanning of commercially produced Genotyping SNP arrays from Affymetrix , including the 5.0 and 6.0 arrays. New!
- Bioinformatics analysis services for all genomics research at UPCI. Please inquire.
- Data storage, archival, and network services to support the above applications and services. Coming Soon!