Core Facilities

The CFAR Core facilities help both clinical and laboratory investigators by providing services and laboratory measurements that the investigator does not have to set up individually themselves. Because the CFAR pays some technician salaries and obtains and maintains laboratory equipment, investigators using the Cores are able to rapidly obtain high quality, relatively inexpensive data. Our ultimate goal is to never have a clinical or laboratory investigator not pursue a good idea because they lack to patients or the laboratory techniques required.

 

Developmental Core - Core B
In keeping with the mission of the CFAR, the Developmental Core provides competitive start-up awards to:

• Strengthen and enhance the scientific productivity of the CFAR via feasibility study/pilot project awards to investigators new to the field of AIDS research
• Encourage collaboration and enable a rapid response to emerging opportunities in AIDS research
• Develop new technologies that will expedite the AIDS research

Clinical Core - Core C

• Facilitation of Translational Research
  The Clinical Core facilitates the identification and enrollment of specific categories of HIV infected individuals, or people at risk, into clinical and laboratory studies. The clinical core also will assist investigators with IRB and other regulatory approvals.
• Biostatistics and Epidemiology
  The CFAR Biostatistics and Epidemiology Core provides a variety of services to encourage the rapid conduct of patient-based research. These services include epidemiological and biostatistical consultation, biomathematical modeling, and data management.
• Specimen Management
  The CFAR Specimen Management Core provides - processing and storage of biological samples from HIV-infected patients and uninfected controls - cataloging and distribution of information on stored specimens and - procurement of fresh biological samples for HIV/AIDS studies.

Flow Cytometry Core - Core D
The CFAR Flow Cytometry Core provides an array of innovative flow analytical measurements and cell sorting in addition to the usual 3-color surface phenotyping of lymphocytes. Instrumentation includes FACScans, a FACSCaliber, and an ARIA II with 5 lasers, capable of discriminating cells labeled with up to 17 colors, and simultaneous sorting of 4 different populations of cells. In addition this Core facility provides multiplex analyte detection using a Luminex platform capable of detecting up to 100 analytes in a single microwell. The Core staff is available for training and consultation on these methods.

Immunology Core - Core E
The CFAR Immunology Core Facility provides - A range of both antibody and cellular immunologic assays.

• Testing of polyclonal sera as well as human, primate and rodent anti-HIV mAbs for neutralizing activity against a wide range of HIV primary isolates and for their ability to bind to intact virions and to infected cells. - Provision of human anti-HIV mAbs. Frozen stocks of more than 70 mycoplasma-free cell lines producing human anti-HIV mAbs are maintained in the Core.
• Cellular immune responses to a variety of HIV antigens and peptides and control microbial antigens as assessed by proliferation assays by thymidine incorporation or by CFSE dilution, or intracellular cytokine production. Measurements of lymphocyte activation, apoptosis, cell cycle analyses, ELISPOT assays, and Cr51 release cytotoxicity assays. Enumeration and function of dendritic cells.
• The preparation of PBMCs from blood samples as part of clinical studies.

Virology Core - Core F
The CFAR Virology Core consists of 3 units. One concentrates on bulk and quantitative HIV culture, measurement, resistance testing, phenotype analysis , and genotype analysis using the heteroduplex mobility assay and sequencing. The second quantifies HIV in plasma or culture fluids by the Roche RT-PCR method, or screens individual or pooled samples for HIV by real time PCR. The third is a standard, licensed virology lab which detects the presence of herpes viruses (HSV, CMV, HHV6, VZV, and EBV) by culture and/or PCR, as well as other viruses such as HCV and JC by PCR.