The facilities available for nutrition research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are outstanding
Shared Research Facilities
The UW Biotechnology Center (UWBC) provides core services for research in molecular and cellular biology including:
- Genome editing: This Lab’s expertise provides you with seamless access to the full toolkit of genome editing possibilities, including CRISPR screening and modeling.
- Animal Models: This Core generates novel, highly relevant, genome edited or transgenic animal models (mice, rat, swine) and provides state-of-the-art reproductive biology services that enable animal model banking, recovery, and sharing.
- Gene Expression: The Gene Expression Center provides a broad range of services including RNA extractions, bulk and single cell RNA library preparations, spatial transcriptomics and beadarray based genotyping and methylation services.
- NextGen Sequencing: The DNA Sequencing Facility provides high-quality short read and long read next-generation sequencing, genotyping, methylation, epigenomics, and metagenomics services.
- Mass spectrometry: The Mass Spectrometry Core Facility has several mass spectrometers for the analysis of biomolecules, including proteins, peptides, oligonucleotides, oligosaccharides and other small organic and inorganic molecules.
- Bioinformatics: BRC staff have biological, statistical, and programing experience to support the analysis of biological data. We use fast reproducible pipelines to shorten the time to discovery.
- BioGarage: This is a unit of shared wet lab space that seeks to assist researchers by providing affordable access to laboratory space and walk-up instrumentation. It houses a range of instrumentation for biochemical and molecular analyses, fractionation and other processes.
The Carbone Cancer Center: Cancer is not just one disease. A variety of factors influence the way malignant cells develop, spread and evolve to overcome treatment, even among cancers of the same organ type. That’s why UW Carbone encourages a collaborative, multidisciplinary exchange of ideas and research partnerships, including access to shared research services in six core areas that enhance research at the discovery, translational and clinical stages.
The Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR): Established in 2007, ICTR provides training, funding and services to help clinical and translational researchers from many fields grow their careers and increase their impact. ICTR connects researchers with resources that increase the efficiency and equity of their work, while also shortening the time between discovery and clinical/community impact. Learn more about how we accomplish this by exploring our programs, research services, funding opportunities, and education and training programs.
Flow Cytometry Cores are present in several campus facilities and includes FACS-STAR+ dual laser cell sorters, a FACSCAN analytical instrument, and AUTOCLONE for sorting into multi-well plates. The mission of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center Flow Lab is to maintain a cutting-edge facility that provides researchers the technical and educational support for fluorescence-based single cell analysis and isolation to further the characterization and understanding of cellular function, biomarkers, pathology, and treatment in basic, translational, and clinical research projects.
Imaging instrumentation is available at several campus locations. The Laboratory for Optical and Computational Instrumentation is a Biophotonics research laboratory with the mission of developing advanced optical and computational techniques for imaging and experimentally manipulating living specimens. The Keck Laboratory for Biological Imaging in the Medical School, the Waisman Center, Department of Botany and UW Cancer Center all operate confocal microscopes for general campus use. Both the college of engineering and medical school operate shared use electron microscopy facilities. The UW Microscopy Portal provides links to all these resources and others.
Small animal imaging facility is a recent addition that makes available polarized emission tomography (micro-PET), microprobe NMR, and dual emission-excitation imaging (DEXA) to the campus research community for use on animal models.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Small Animal Imaging and Radiotherapy Facility (SAIRF): This is a comprehensive core facility within the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC). We are dedicated to providing innovative, state-of-the-art, affordable, noninvasive, high-resolution, in-vivo and ex-vivo imaging and radiotherapy support to UWCCC investigators, University of Wisconsin researchers, and industry.
The Biochemistry Optical Core (BOC) provides state-of-the-art instrumentation for light and fluorescence based microscopy, including epifluorescence, confocal, and super-resolution imaging. Expertise and advice is available for the design of experiments involving these techniques.
Translational Research Initiatives in Pathology (TRIP): This core laboratory offers investigators across campus state-of-the-art experimental pathology support. Services include high-quality histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), advanced morphometry and image analysis, tissue microarray (TMA) construction and molecular pathology.
The UW-Madison Cryo-Electron Microscopy Research Center (CEMRC): The UW-Madison CEMRC is dedicated to providing instrumentation, technical assistance, training, and access to cryo-EM for the UW-Madison research community. The CEMRC manages and operates four cryo-microscopes for data collection by single particle, tomography, and micro-ED. The microscopes are overseen by experienced staff who offer consultation and training in negative-stain and vitrified sample preparation, single particle analysis, tomography, data processing and additional computational support.
The Biophysics Instrumentation Facility (BIF): The facility provides access to state-of-the-art instrumentation focused on the study of conformations, activities and assembly of biological and other macromolecules. While each instrument provides distinct insight, the ensemble enables a thorough characterization of structure, function, and interaction of biological assemblies.
Mass spectroscopy facilities are available in UW Biotechnology Center (see above). In addition, instruments located within the Departments of Biochemistry and Chemistry, and in the State Hygiene Laboratory, adjacent to Nutritional Sciences, include mass spectrometry coupled to GC and HPLC as well as MALDI.
National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison (NMRFAM): This facility aims to expand the frontiers of biomolecular NMR spectroscopy in solution and the solid state, to ease access for scientists to state-of-the-art spectroscopic methods, and to disseminate technologies broadly to the user community. NMRFAM provides access to high field (600-900 MHz) solution and solid-state NMR instrumentation and expert staff to assist researchers who would like assistance in experimental design, data acquisition or data analysis. Please contact us with your project ideas and instrumentation needs.
The Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics is part of the NIGMS Protein Structure Initiative (PSI). PSI is a federal, university, and industry effort aimed at dramatically reducing the costs and lessening the time it takes to determine a three-dimensional protein structure. The long-range goal of PSI is to solve 10,000 protein structures in 10 years and to make the three-dimensional atomic-level structures of most proteins easily obtainable from knowledge of their corresponding DNA sequences.
Specialized animal facilities include the Gnotobiotic Laboratory for studies with germ-free mice, the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center, and a specific pathogen-free swine facility at the Center for Biomedical Swine Research and Innovation.