Cores and Facilities
GLRCE Cores and Facilities Small Animal Research Core
The CDC Category A agents (anthrax, plague, botulism, smallpox, tularemia and viral hemorrhagic fever) studied by scientists in the GLRCE require special procedures for safe handling. Conducting the experiments essential to the development of novel therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostic devices relating to biodefense requires a special facility and specially trained personnel. The Animal Research Component provides an animal facility with appropriate housing, animal care and containment and security measures for this research. The animal care and use program at the University of Chicago is
AAALAC International accredited. Please visit
the Small Animal Research Core website for more information.
Immunology Core
The Immunology Core of the GLRCE provides researchers throughout the upper Midwest with the resources of the
University of Chicago Immunology Core Facility, an established center offering state-of-the-art immunological technologies. Immunology is an interdisciplinary study, and the GLRCE Immunology Core unites basic science with clinical research. For basic science research, researchers use the Immunology Core to investigate cellular structure and function and to explore translation research in clinical applications and molecular medicine. For clinical trials, the Immunology Core provides expert immunologic monitoring capabilities. The three facilities of the Immunology Core are the
Flow Cytometry Facility, providing cell analysis and sorting instrumentation, the
Immunohistochemistry Facility, a full service histology and IHC staining facility, and a
Monoclonal Antibody Facility, producing novel monoclonal antibodies.
Microbial Informatics Core
Recent advances in the biological sciences have led to the increasingly rapid creation of data and information – for example, the recently-developed technology that allows for rapid sequencing of genomes. The generation of vast amounts of data through wide experimentation has led to the development of bioinformatics, a branch of science devoted to the development and application of computational tools to the data produced by biological scientists. The GLRCE Microbial Informatics Core provides researchers in the region with computational data analysis to support biodefense research. The computational tools and databases provided by the Microbial Informatics Core will facilitate the identification and characterization of pathogens studied by GLRCE investigators. More information about the Microbial Informatics Core and access to computational tools is available through their
website.
Botulism Core
The most toxic proteins to humans are the neurotoxins produced by the Category A agent Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism. The Botulism Core of the GLRCE is located within
The Food Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin, where botulism has been studied for over 50 years, providing an incomparable level of experience and expertise in the botulism field to GLRCE researchers. The Core will serve the region by maintaining strains of Clostridium botulinum for genetic studies, producing and purifying botulinum neurotoxins for study, and providing expertise for several GLRCE researchers studying botulism. To contact the Botulism Core please email
bot@glrce.org.
Trans-RCE Cores and Facilities
National Screening Laboratory for the RCEs (NSRB)
The National Screening Laboratory for the RCEs, located at Harvard University, supports research directed towards the identification of small molecules that enhance our understanding of the basic biology of pathogens relevant to biodefense or emerging infectious disease, and development of new therapeutic agents against these NIAID Priority Pathogens. The NSRB provides access to small molecule collections and assistance in conducting and interpreting high-throughput screens for all investigators conducting research relevant to these aims. The NSRB also has medicinal chemistry capability to advance promising screening hits toward pharmaceutical development.