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College of Medicine: Office of Research

Cores

The College of Medicine (COM) supports a wide range of shared resources and core facilities designed to advance basic, clinical and translational research. Core facilities are pay-per-use research laboratories or analytical services, which allow investigators access to technologies and services not available in their own laboratories.

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  • The Bioinformatics Core provides faculty support in experimental design, data analysis, data visualization, and interpretation of large, complex genomic and proteomic data sets. The core provides quality checking, differential analysis, and pathway/gene set enrichment analysis. For more information, please contact bioinformatics@uams.edu.
  • Bone Biomechanics, History and Imaging Core – serves the needs of the investigators working on musculoskeletal diseases at UAMS. The core is staffed by experienced personnel and operates under the leadership of Dr. Roy Morello.
  • Brain Imaging and Research Center – a Philips Achieva 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, a state-of-the-art research scanner that addresses focus issues related to human neuroscience. Contact Natalie Morris by email at NMorris@uams.edu, or by phone at 501-526-8339.
  • Digital Microscopy Core Laboratory – operates and maintains computer controlled microscope workstations ranging from light to electron microscopy. We offer advice, training and user support for equipment operation (e.g., 3D SIM, PALM, CLEM, TEM) and sample preparation such as chemical fixation of cell culture and tissue samples. Contact Jeff Kamykowski by email at JAKamykowski@uams.edu, or by phone at 501-526-7290.
  • Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine – DLAM partners with campus investigators to provide the best possible care for study animals. DLAM maintains several animal housing facilities that specialize in breeding, quarantine, BSL2, and conventional areas. They provide husbandry and technical expertise while monitoring welfare, enrichment, and humane endpoints. Their goal is to provide specific pathogen-free (SPF) study animals for principal investigators in a research conducive environment.
  • DNA and Next Generation Sequencing Core Facility – provides researchers with sequencing data via an Applied Biosystems Model 3130XL Genetic Analyzer. We regularly achieve read lengths of 700-900 bases. Contact Jennifer Johnson by email at Johnsonjennifer@uams.edu or by phone at 501-686-6927.
  • DNA Damage and Toxicology – provides expertise, equipment and facilities to perform DNA damage and toxicology studies related to toxic or hypoxic tissue/cell injury in drug development, diseases or aging. In addition to offering standard cytotoxicity assays, the core can measure oxidative damage and quantify levels of apoptosis and necrosis in cells and tissues by using quantitative cytochemistry, immunocytochemistry techniques, and 3-D imaging.
  • Experimental Pathology Core – provides a variety of standard pathological stains for histochemical analysis of tissues, including hematoxylin and eosin, special stains, and immunohistochemistry. Contact Jennifer James by email at JamesJenniferD@uams.edu, or by phone at 501-686-8265.
  • Flow Cytometry Core Facility – provides multiple physical characteristics of individual cells in suspension. It can indicate relative cell size and density or complexity by measuring forward- and side-scattered laser light, respectively, as well as measure relative fluorescence from biomarker probes which bind to specific cell-associated molecules. Contact Andrea Harris by email at aharris@uams.edu, or by phone at 501-686-6927.
  • Genetic Models Core – provides services related to the production and maintenance of genetically modified mice (e.g., transgenic mice in the C57BL/6 or CB6F1 genetic back-ground) and gene-edited mice using the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Contact Joseph Goellner, M.S., by email at jjgoellner@uams.edu, or by phone at 501-940-7264.
  • Genomics Core – uses state-of-the-art instrumentation to generate top-quality data with an efficient turn-around time and an affordable cost. A wide range of services are offered, for instance: DNA NGS approaches utilizing Whole Exome Sequencing, Whole Genome Sequencing, and targeted cancer panel approaches. RNA NGS approaches for mRNA and total RNA are also offered. All NGS approaches utilize the latest Illumina technology platforms.
  • Molecular Imaging Core – provides comprehensive services for non-invasive imaging with a 7 T Magnetic Resonance Imager (MRI). Contact Michael Borrelli, Ph.D., by email at MJBorrelli@uams.edu, or by phone at 501-526-5897.
  • Proteomics Core – provides protein characterization by mass spectrometry. This includes identification of unknown proteins, quantitative comparison of proteins in biological samples, and mapping of post-translational protein modifications. Contact Sam Mackintosh, Ph.D., by email at MackintoshSamuelG@uams.edu, or by phone at 501-526-6165.

Other UAMS Cores

  • Experimental Radiation Core – maintains and operates sources of ionizing radiation for use by researchers at UAMS. Services offered include training, experiment design advice using radiation, and dosimetry for new experimental setups. Contact Nukhet Aykin-Burns, Ph.D., by email at NAykinburns@uams.edu, or by phone at 501-603-1375.
  • Ultrasound Imaging Core – offers non-invasive assessment for cardiovascular, vascular biology and cancer research, including pulse-wave and color Doppler imaging and non-targeted/targeted contrast imaging with MicroMarkers. Contact Marjan Boerma, Ph.D., by email at MBoerma@uams.edu, or by phone at 501-686-6599.
  • Biodosimetry Diagnostic Core

Arkansas Childrens’ Research Institute Cores (available to UAMS investigators)

Information about the Biostatistics Core and Systems Biology Bioinformatics Core are available on the Arkansas Children’s Resources for Researchers web page.