Facility Details

The Wistar Molecular Screening and Protein Expression Facility is a shared resource accessible to Wistar and non-Wistar scientists. The mission of the facility is to enable investigators to 1) apply cutting edge technology and unique resources to discover molecular, genetic, and small molecule compounds suitable to further study the functions of poorly understood proteins, signaling pathways, and cells in complex biological processes relevant to human physiology and disease; 2) provide technical assistance with viral vector preparation and the expression and purification of recombinant proteins; 3) foster collaborations; and 4) fulfill the long-term translational goal of the Wistar Cancer Center of merging basic mechanisms of cancer biology with disease-relevant themes of early-phase drug discovery and new target identification.

These goals are accomplished by a centralized laboratory with dedicated, experienced staff, providing expertise in bridging automated technology with the development of innovative assays for high-throughput chemical and functional genomic screens. The laboratory strives to maintain the flexibility to accommodate diverse biological systems and a variety of investigator-developed assay types. With years of experience in recombinant protein expression and special expertise in the use of baculovirus expression systems (BVES) the facility enables high-throughput, economy of scale, virus preparation and protein expression services, including quality assurance and control procedures to ensure efficient, consistent production and purification of recombinant proteins and viral vectors. Many recombinant proteins produced by the facility have been used for crystallization efforts, analytical biochemistry studies designed to investigate enzymatic properties, structure-function relationships between protein-protein, protein-nucleic-acid, and protein-small molecule interactions, custom antibody production, experimental cancer vaccines, and development of miniaturized assays for small molecule screening.

While service is the primary role of the laboratory, the staff will also develop and implement new technology as needed to fulfill the needs of its users. Education and training is also part of the laboratory's mission, as trainees apply high-throughput screening experiments to their investigations. The combinations of these activities will provide scientists opportunities to develop new innovative basic and translational research, preliminary data for hypothesis driven research grant applications, and public-private partnerships.