Larner College of Medicine

Lab Resources

Histology Facility
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To address the cellular and molecular relationships of bone and cancer, our histology facility is equipped with specialized instrumentation for processing and sectioning tissues, with an emphasis on bone, which includes a Sakura Tissue-Tek Tissue Processor, Sakura Tissue Tek Embedding Station, Hacker-Bright OTF 5000 Cryostat, a Leica RM 2165 paraffin and plastic embedded tissue microtome and for visualization and recording of those sections, we have a Zeiss Axioskop 40 microscope with a AxioCam MRm CCD digital camera and Axiovision imaging software. In addition, we house a Faxitron MX20-DC12 digital radiography system in the UVM mouse quarters.

Tissue Culture Facility
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Our research group maintains a dedicated tissue culture facility, operated for the growth and maintenance of approximately 35 cell lines and in an adjacent dedicated space, human embryonic stem (hES) and induced pluripotent (hiPS) cell lines. the laboratory establishes organoid cultures from patient tumors and maintains organoid cell lines from the National Cancer Institute and the Hubracha laboratory. are cultured. The stem cell facility currently maintains two NIH-approved human embryonic stem cell lines, H1 (WA01) and H9 (WA09), obtained from the WiCell Institute of the University of Wisconsin, as well as induced pluripotent (iPS) cell lines. Images are recorded on a Nikon TS-100-F inverted microscope with brightfield and fluorescence options, with a SPOT camera. We have a Leica M 165FC stereo zoom microscope for isolating blastocysts with a Leica DFC 310 FX CCC digital image capture system, dedicated incubators, stem cell processing hoods, and a colony picking hood as well as an oxygenated incubator. Additionally, in an adjacent specialized BSL2 facility, viral vectors are generated, visualized, and recorded using an inverted Nikon TS-100-F microscope with bright field and fluorescence capabilities with SPOT camera and SPOT Advanced software.

Imaging Facility
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Immunofluorescence microscopy houses two state-of-the-art digital microscopes – an inverted Leica DMI 6000B microscope and an upright Zeiss AxioImager Z2 microscope. Each microscope is equipped with high-resolution CCD cameras, dedicated workstations with access to networked drives, and powerful image analysis software as well as live cell microscopy capabilities. In addition, our group routinely carries out 3D micro-computed tomography for skeletal tissue using a SCANCO 40 medical unit. Multispectral confocal microscopy and CODEX/phenocycler imaging of genes, transcripts, and proteins as well as single-cell genomic analysis, and spatial transcriptomics are routinely utilized.

Post Doctoral Training and Rotation Opportunities

Opportunity 1

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Molecular characterization of intranuclear targeting signals for the organization and assembly of regulatory machinery for cell cycle and tissue-specific gene expression in nuclear microenvironment of normal and tumor cells.

Opportunity 2

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Characterization of regulatory mechanisms controlling the pluripotent cell cycle of human embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed (induced pluripotent) stem cells.

Opportunity 3

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Investigation of mechanisms mediating mitotic retention of transcription factors (“gene bookmarking”) as a novel dimension to epigenetic regulation of cell fate and lineage commitment for biological control and cancer.

Opportunity 4

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Establishment of genetic and epigenetic signatures for skeletal development and bone remodeling employing genomic, proteomic and bioinformatic strategies.

Opportunity 5

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microRNA and long non-coding RNA regulation of proliferation, differentiation and human disease including cancer and skeletal disorders.

Opportunity 6

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Investigation of mechanisms mediating breast cancer and prostate cancer metastasis to bone using Degron-mediated ablation of tumor promoters and tumor suppressors.

Opportunity 7

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Cell cycle control at the G1/S phase transition utilizing molecular, cellular, biochemical and in vivo genetic approaches.

Opportunity 8

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Cancer stem-cell control of tumor initiation, progression, and disease reoccurrence. 

Opportunity 9

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Multi-omic and degron strategies to characterize, at the mechanistic and clinically relevant, the regulatory activities of tumor suppressors and tumor promoters.