Core facility that provides the following services: In-gel protease digestion service, LC-MS/MS protein identification service, Gel/LC-MS/MS Comprehensive analysis of a subproteome or proteome, MudPIT (LC/LC-MS/MS) analyis?comprehensive analysis of a subproteome or proteome, Reverse phase microbore HPLC peptide mapping service, MALDI mass spectrometry, ESI of intact proteins, Post-translational modification identifications, Custom proteomics database creation, Custom proteomics data analysis, Proteomics methods development. The Wistar Proteomics Facility provides mass spectrometry (MS) and sequence analysis of proteins and peptides at maximum sensitivity using state-of-the-art instruments and methods. The most commonly used services are identifications of either purified proteins or complex protein mixtures, such as sub-proteomes or complete proteomes, using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI MS/MS). Typically, either individual bands are excised from 1-D SDS gels, or the entire gel lane is analyzed by slicing it into uniform fractions followed by trypsin digestion and nanocapillary HPLC interfaced directly with hybrid ion trap mass spectrometry (Gel/LC-MS/MS). Data is analyzed and filtered to produce low false-positive rates. Several options are available for quantitatively comparing protein changes in related samples, and additional options will be implemented in the future. Complementary services include reverse-phase microbore HPLC peptide mapping with UV detection and mass measurements of intact peptides and proteins using MALDI MS or ESI MS. Posttranslational modification (PTM) analyses including identifications of specific modified residues also are provided, although investigators should recognize that in most cases these studies are quite complex and require substantial effort. These studies, as well as analyses of complex protein mixtures, usually require preparation of custom sequence databases and/or custom data analyses, which can be provided by the facility as needed.

Core provides High Throughput Data Analysis, Customized Bioinformatics Services, Custom Programming, High Performance Computing, Data management. Supports research and education mission of The Wistar Institute. Located in the Center for Systems and Computational Biology. Provides Cancer Center investigators with database management, software application support, expertise in statistical analyses and computational modeling of biomedical research data and has statistical specialists and programmers as well as computational biologists. Functions of the Facility are divided into data-management, statistical analyses and computational modeling, and advanced bioinformatics tools for integrative cancer biology.

Core facility that provides the following services: Immunophenotyping, Fluorescent protein expression analysis, Cell-cycle analysis, Functional assay service, Non-infectious cell sorting, BSL2+ biohazardous cell sorting, Flow cytometry consultation service, Flow cytometry training and ongoing advice, Flow cytometry data management service, Flow cytometry collaboration facilitation, Flow cytometer access. The Wistar Institute Flow Cytometry Shared Resource provides flow cytometric services, training, advice, and support for the use of flow cytometric techniques by Wistar Cancer Center investigators, as well as the greater basic research community.

Core facility that provides the following services: Microarray services, RNA amplification service, ABI 7900 Real-time qPCR service, Capillary DNA sequencing and microsatellite analysis, Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencing service, Illumina Genome Analyzer services. The Wistar Genomics Facility serves as a hub for consultation and scientific interactions relating to nucleic-acid based methods and provides expertise and support to insure the best possible use of emerging nucleic-acid technologies. In addition to consultation and collaboration with Wistar Cancer Center members, the Facility provides services to the greater scientific community. The establishment of this facility was supported in part by an NCI Cancer Center Support Grant and equipment grants from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, The Pew Charitable Trusts and the National Cancer Institute.

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.