Core--Viral, Cellular and Molecular Biology Facility

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The purpose of the Viral/Cell/Molecular Core is to provide comprehensive support for virological, molecular and primary cell-based studies, in order enhance the productivity and efficiency of established HIV investigators within the Penn/Wistar/CHOP community, facilitate the entrance of new investigators into the field of AIDS research, and promote scientific collaborations among these investigators. The Core provides: (1) a carefully supervised facility for Biosafety Level 3 facility for the performance of containment experiments by investigators without access to individual containment facilities or who require a level of containment greater than currently available; (2) a central repository of prototype, mutant, and well-characterized primary HIV-1 isolates representing different aspects of pathogenesis; (3) a service for primary HIV-1 isolation, titration and characterization; (4) additional virologic services including growth, titration and QA of viral stocks, and cost-efficient HIV p24 & SIV p27 ELISA assay; (5) high volume primary PBMC of specified genotype (ie, CCR5 delta32 homozygous) by leukapharesis, and; (6) support for the use of quantitative real-time PCR technology including machine use and cost-efficient optimized primer/probe sets and reagents prepared in bulk for Core users. The Core also provides training programs in (a) HIV biosafety practices for lab personnel new to HIV research or refresher programs for current research personnel; (b) training in use of realtime quantitative PCR technology including custom primer development & data analysis software, and; (c) assistance to new investigators with practical aspects of virological techniques. It is our expectation that this Core will continue to enhance productivity and collaborations among existing HIV investigators and facilitate the entrance of non-HIV investigators into the field, while providing a mechanism to enhance laboratory biosafety.