Core Laboratories
Core Grant funding to the YSCC from the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Fund (CSCRF) has enabled the YSCC to establish and maintain four state-of-the-art core laboratories: the Human Embryonic Stem Cell/Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (hESC/iPSC) Core, Cell Imaging Core, Genomics Core, and Cell Manipulation Core. These Cores, together with a Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter Core (FACS) built with Yale School of Medicine funds, have been serving as the central platform of technical support for stem cell research at Yale and throughout the State of CT and have transformed stem cell research at Yale. The equipment is regularly upgraded and maintained to meet the growing needs of our users. Access to hESC/iPSC lines, their culture technology, imaging, and gene expression analysis in the YSCC Core laboratories has paved the way for scientists throughout the State of CT to conduct their research.
hESC/iPSC Core:
The mission of the Yale Stem Cell Center’s hESC/iPSC Core – now part of the Yale Medical School’s Central Research Cores - is to provide essential services for research on human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to researchers at Yale University and beyond.
The hESC/iPSC Core of the Yale Stem Cell Center provides services producing iPSC. Reprogramming fully differentiated somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is used to model human disease in vitro and holds great promise in regenerative medicine.
Other Laboratories:
Over the past decade, with the advent of powerful new microscope systems and a wide range of specific fluorescent probes, laser-scanning confocal microscopy has become an indispensable tool in cell biology. This is particularly true in the stem cell field, where it is now possible to visualize the expression and location of the key molecules that regulate cell fate and to track cell differentiation at very high resolution. For this reason, the YSCC has established a Cell Imaging Core.
Genomics is one of the Yale Stem Cell Center's core facilities funded by the State of Connecticut, Li Ka Shing Foundation, and Yale University. The Genomics Core’s mission is to offer a prominent level of expertise in next generation sequencing technology to support stem cell research at Yale, across Connecticut, and beyond. The Genomics Core is a hub for collaborations and a training site for stem cell researchers who wish to extend their research using genomic approaches.
An important aspect of stem cell research is the microinjection of genes and other molecules into stem cells and the microinjection of embryonic stem cells or iPSCs into early mouse embryos. This core serves these functions.