Quantitative Core

University Of California, San Francisco, San Francisco CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The primary goal of the Quantitative Core is, firstly, to provide specialized equipment for the measurement of the mechanical properties of cells and the cellular microenvironment. Secondly, the Core aims to offer centralized expertise in the experimental approaches to studying the cellular responses to mechanical inputs, ranging from the molecular level at the cell extracellular matrix interface to cell- and tissue-level biochemical responses in 2-D and 3-D synthetic and natural organotypic cultures. The decision to organize this Core around the UCSF Department of Surgery Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration is a recognition of the wealth of expertise and specialized instrumentation in this area of study available within the Center and the need to make this more readily accessible to investigators with intersecting research interests. The organizational structure and interaction of the Quantitative Core with the rest of the UCSF TMEN Brain Cancer Center and other core facilities at UCSF is shown in the adjacent flow diagram. An Executive Committee consisting of a select number of the principal participants in the UCSF TMEN Brain Cancer Center will work closely with the Core Director, Valerie Weaver, PhD, to set priorities and requests for pilot projects. The daily operation of the Core will be overseen by the Core Manager, Johnathon Lakins, PhD. Dr. Lakins will also serve as the primary interface with other centralized cores at UCSF and in the Bay Area for projects deemed to require additional or complementary equipment and expertise. The Quantitative Core will build upon the already extensive collaborations that the Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration has developed with the Nano Fabrication Core, Biological Imaging Development Center (BIDC), and Nikon Imaging Center (NIC) at UCSF, and the Integrative Cancer Biology Program (ICBP) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Matthew Krummel, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology and Director ofthe BIDC, will serve as an as-needs principal consultant on projects with a significant component of light microscopic imaging and image processing.