Physiology Core

The objective of the Physiology Core is to serve as a fee-for-service resource for DRC members to facilitate in vivo diabetes-related research dealing with biological outcomes in normal, diabetic, and genetically manipulated rodents – mostly in rat models, but also in mice. The Physiology Core is divided into two Sub-cores:

1. the Animal Surgery and Experimental Procedure Sub-core, which provides assistance with in vivo rodent studies
2. the Analytical Sub-core, which assists with measurement of various analytes in rat and mouse samples.

The Animal Surgery and Experimental Procedure Sub-core provides DRC investigators with training as well as access to centralized laboratory facilities and personnel to carry out complex metabolic, in vivo physiological experiments in conscious rodent models. These procedures, which include vascular and stereotaxic surgery, the performance of glucose clamps, glucose tolerance tests, continuous glucose sensing, microdialysis, microinjection and energy expenditure analyses are not easily accessible to investigators without prior training or experience. The Animal Surgery and Experimental Procedure Sub-core offers DRC members access to technical and theoretical instruction as well as the specialized equipment and experimental methodologies necessary to apply them to diabetes research.

The Analytical Sub-core provides DRC members with centralized facilities for measuring hormones, substrates, neurotransmitters and cytokines derived from animal studies. This component of the Physiology Core gives DRC users access to technical expertise and equipment for radioimmunoassays, ELISAs, a Luminex multiplexer and HPLC. In addition, the unit also has the ability to quantify fuel substrates and neurotransmitters using photometric assays or LC/MS. The technical staff of this sub-core can also assist investigators with the development of novel assays that are specific for their research.

Please email rachel.perry@yale.edu, raimund.herzog@yale.edu and gerald.shulman@yale.edu for ordering and price list.