The Research Informatics Core at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) provides a broad spectrum of bioinformatics services to the UIC and Chicago-area research communities, including genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, metagenomics, metabolomics, and proteomics analysis, as well as applications in statistical analysis, systems biology, and machine learning.

The Electron Microscopy Service (EMS) is a central facility offering access to scanning (SEM), transmission (TEM) and scanning transmission (STEM) electron microscopes as well as Surface Analysis (X-Ray Photon Spectroscopy and Raman Spectroscopy) on a pay-per-use basis. Investigators are encouraged to learn how to operate the instrumentation themselves, however, the EMS staff are available to carry out experiments for those investigators who only occasionally require electron microscopy service. The EMS instrumentation is also available to investigators from outside UIC.

The Sequencing Core (SQC) is a multi-faceted facility providing nucleic acid extraction, quantitative PCR, cell line authentication, sequencing and next-generation sequencing (NGS) services. The core houses instrumentation for customer use (quantitative PCRs, nucleic acid quantification devices, and acoustic shearing devices) and provides full service for nucleic acid extraction, quantitative PCR and analysis, daily capillary electrophoresis (Sanger) sequencing, and high-throughput NGS for analysis of DNA and RNA. The core has a particular emphasis on microbiology, with services for de novo genome sequencing and assembly, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, shotgun metagenome sequencing, and metatranscriptome sequencing.

We are the Chicago area core proteomics facility, supporting researchers at the University of Illinois, Northwestern University and The University of Chicago. Our facility offers state of the art protein quantitation, protein identification and molecular weight determination using mass spectrometry. We accept sample submissions from academic researchers outside the Chicago area as well as from industry. We offer preparative isoelectric focusing, off-line HPLC fractionation, and other services. We host an annual workshop near the end of summer which is open to investigators outside the Chicago area.

We also offer metabolomics and small molecule mass spectrometry services. Please visit our web site for more information then give us a call or e-mail us at proteomics@uic.edu with any questions.

The Core Genomics Facility provides complete services for Affymetrix gene expression and genomic arrays, as well as hybridization and scanning for custom glass arrays.
Bioinformatics services are available for advanced analysis of any data sets. Analysis tools available include: Affymetrix NetAffx Analysis Center; Bioconductor; DNA-Chip Analyzer (dChip); DAVID; Expression Profiler; PAM: Prediction Analysis for Microarray; SAM Significant Analysis of Microarrays; SNOMAD - Standardization and Normalization of MicroArray Data; Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA); Cytoscape; Osprey