Research: Shared Services

Translational Laboratory

Facilities/Equipment

For More Information

The Translational Laboratory is located in room BRB-9020G-H (800 square feet), on the 9th floor of the Bressler Research Building at the University of Maryland Baltimore campus. Additional space such as a liquid nitrogen storage room (BRB-9059), a cold room (BRB-9016), centrifguge and freezer room (BRB-9015), a dark room (BRB-9018), and a radioisotope area (BRB 9014) are available. Animal work will be performed in the Vivarium operated by the University of Maryland School of Medicine Veterinary Resources (VR). Space in holding rooms (HH 653 and HSF 654 F) equipped for the housing of immunocompetent or immunodeficient mice has been allocated to the Translational Laboratory. VR has an Animal Welfare Assurance on file with the NIH Office for Protection from Research Risks (OPRR), Assurance no. A3200-01.

Equipment and procedures which are unique to the Translational Laboratory include:

High-throughput plate reader for fluorescence, luminescence, and UV/VIS detection
Fully automated high-throughput colony counter for tumor stem cell assays (Microbiology International)
Leica DM4000 microscope with fluorescence light and phase contrast light sources, cooled camera with monochrome and color filters, automated x,y,z stage, and imaging software (Openlab, Improvision)
A LABCAT Tumor Tracking & Measurement Software version 8.0 for tumor data acquisition and processing.
An IACUC approved umbrella animal use protocol “Animal Models for Studying Tumor Biology and for the Evaluation of Pharmacodynamic and Pharmacokinetic Endpoints of Novel and Experimental Cancer Therapies” for following procedures considered key in preclinical anticancer drug development exists (#0405001): determination of the maximal tolerated dose (MTD) of a novel agent; establishment of human tumor xenografts or murine tumor lines from model cell lines (e.g. target transfected) and tissues; tumor efficacy experiments in traditional s.c. nude mouse xenografts of a test compound versus standard agents alone or in combination; determination of pharmacodynamic endpoints in xenograft efficacy models using serum or tumor tissue based parameters.

Other equipment includes:

Equipment for RNA expression/DNA analyses (PCR, Real-time PCR, electrophoresis)
Equipment for protein expression analyses (Western blot, ELISA)

This page was last updated on: January 17, 2008.