CFAR Virology and Biosafety Core

The Virology Core facility will function as a resource for Virus, Cells, and Molecular Virology Assays. It will provide Phenotyping service, Screening service and Qualitative/Quantitative Detection service to the participating CFAR investigators. The facility will have standardized and centralized routine research techniques and reagents available for the investigators. A major advantage of such a centralized facility is the elimination of duplication of effort and, therefore, reduced expenditure and efficient use of personnel.

By using the facility, the investigators can improve and accelerate research activities of ongoing projects without unnecessary delays inherent in preparation, titering and characterization of viral stocks, isolating primary T-cells, or obtaining enriched CD4 T-cells or macrophages. This will also encourage the investigators to embark on new research areas/projects without the hassles and down-time involved in setting up/standardizing routine techniques in their respective laboratories. The centralized facility will also ensure quality control of reagents and uniformity in techniques. This will facilitate sharing of reagents and technology, which in turn will potentially generate mutual interests in research projects and will lay the foundation for fruitful collaborations.

Core Director
Mohan Somasundaran, Ph.D.

Address
Dept. of Pediatric Immunology
Program in Molecular Medicine
University of Massachusetts Medical School
373 Plantation Street
Worcester, MA 01605
Phone: (508)-856-4151
Fax: (508)-856-5500
E-mail: mohan.somasundaran@umassmed.edu

Location
The Virology Core (VC) facility is located within the laboratory space on the 3rd floor of Program in Molecular Medicine (Biotech II) building in the University of Massachusetts Medical School campus in Worcester, MA.