NU-CCNE researchers have access to an extensive array of equipment, facilities, and laboratories. Some of these facilities are themselves collaborative efforts. For example, the DND-CAT (DuPont-Northwestern-Dow Collaborative Access Team is a permanent synchrotron research center at the Advanced Photon Source, at Argonne National Laboratory. A partial list of available resources is given below:

Analytical Services Laboratory – provides access to most types of chemical analysis instrumentation. NMR spectrometers, mass spectrometers, optical spectrometers, elemental analysis instruments, chromatography instruments, thermal analysis equipment, and X-ray diffractometers are found in this lab.

BIOINFORMATICS CORE FACILITY – provides a full range of bioinformatic resources, including state-of-the-art data handling and retrieval facilities for processing large volumes of biological data generated by high throughput techniques. (Cancer Center)

Biostatistics Core Facility – provides a full range of biostatistical and data management support. (Cancer Center)

Biotechnology Laboratory – provides DNA sequencing, access to HPLC and phosphorimaging instrumentation, and a range of proteomics services, including 2D gel electrophoresis, N-terminal protein sequencing, and MALDI-TOF analysis of proteins and peptides. (Cancer Center)

Cell Imaging Facility – provides access to fluorescence, confocal, and electron microscopy; microinjection and digitally controlled temperature stage for live cell observation; computerized image analysis and digital image manipulation; and the use of advanced imaging modes such as FREP and FRET. (Cancer Center)

Clinical Pharmacology Core Facility – provides investigators with pharmacokinetic support for clinical studies, including Phase I and Phase II clinical trials of cancer chemotherapeutic agents and analgesics. Support includes optimizing the design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of the pharmacokinetic portion of the proposed clinical study.

Clinical Research Office – manages all aspects of NU oncology trials. (Cancer Center)

Confocal Imaging Facilities – a Leica confocal system consisting of two microscopes: an inverted configuration DMIRE2 microscope and a standard configuration DMRXE7. (Feinberg School of Medicine)

DND-CAT (DuPont-Northwestern-Dow Collaborative Access Team) – permanent synchrotron research center at the Advanced Photon Source, a third-generation synchrotron source of x-ray radiation located at Argonne National Laboratory, 20 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. DND-CAT operates two beamlines: an undulator beamline of exceptional brilliance and a bending magnet beamline that can support up to three simultaneous experiments. DND-CAT is supported through E. I. duPont de Nemours & Co., Northwestern University, The Dow Chemical Co., the State of Illinois through the Department of Commerce and the Board of Education (HECA), the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Research, and the US National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research.

Electron Probe Instrumentation Center – houses one of the most complete arsenals of routine and state-of-the-art electron microscopes in the world. (McCormick School of Engineering)

Flow Cytometry Facility – performs both routine and complex analyses, including 3-4 color immunophenotyping, DNA content, cell cycle, and chromosome analyses, several types of apoptosis assays, measurements of intracellular calcium flux, various functional and signaling pathway analyses, measurements of receptor-ligand interactions, cell proliferation and viability assays, and sterile sorting of viable cells. (Cancer Center)

Immunoassay Core Facility – provides a central resource for measurement of enzymes, binding proteins, hormones and/or their precursors and metabolites, growth factors, cytokines and other ligands in biological fluids. (Cancer Center)

J.B. Cohen X-Ray Diffraction Facility – includes 10 standard X-ray generators, four rotating anode units, and a variety of goniometers. Also available are three small-angle units, an EXAFS unit, topographic units, and equipment for work with single crystals or powders (from 2 K to 2,500 K). (McCormick School of Engineering)

Keck Biophysics Facility – provides a wide array of sophisticated spectroscopy equipment and analytical instruments which are available for investigator use, along with the necessary training. (Cancer Center)

Keck Interdisciplinary Surface Science Center – facilitates research, collaboration, education, and outreach in all science from soft biological matter to hard physical matter, specializing in surface analysis and nanoscale characterization. (McCormick School of Engineering)

Magnetic Resonance Research Facility – is located in Evanston, and is part of the ENH Research Institute. The Center for Basic MR Research is staffed by a multidisciplinary team that includes physicists, spectroscopists, engineers and physicians. Research and development, service and education are the three functions of this facility. Combining cutting-edge magnetic resonance techniques and an interdisciplinary approach to biomedical research, the MR Research Center aims to promote understanding of human diseases through MR research on animal models. Furthermore, the facility is at the forefront in developing novel MR imaging techniques and applications with potential to become clinical diagnostic tools. For this purpose, two MR imaging spectrometers – one with a 4.7 T field strength, horizontal axis magnet for imaging large animals, and the other with a 14.1 T field strength, vertical axis magnet for microimaging studies on mice and cultured cells are available. In addition, the facility includes supporting laboratories such as an animal surgery lab, an animal holding room, an image processing lab, and an electronics lab. The combined placement of MR imagers and supporting laboratories under one roof makes this a unique facility in the Midwest.

Media Preparation Facility – prepares custom tissue culture media and reagents.

Monoclonal Antibody Facility – provides technology for the efficient creation of hybridoma cell lines and the production of monoclonal antibodies from these cell lines. Services include immunization of animals, somatic cell fusions, cloning and screening of hybridomas, subcloning and establishment of antibody producing cell lines, and production of active antibodies from hybridoma lines. (Cancer Center)

Nanoscale Imaging, Fabrication, Testing and Instrumentation (NIFTI) Facility – is a multi-user, multi-purpose, open-access facility that provides state-of-the-art surface science characterization tools and soft lithographic writing, imaging, and analysis capabilities. (McCormick School of Engineering)

NMR Facility – 300, 400, and 500 MHz spectrometers. Some of the instruments are designed for routine, 1-D spectral acquisition (1H, 13C, 31P, and 19F), while others are configured for more sophisticated experiments (2D, VT) or more exotic nuclei. (McCormick School of Engineering)

Outcomes Measurement& survey Core – provides consultation and support for research that involves collecting, analyzing or interpreting self-report data (Cancer Center)

Pathology Core Facility – provides tissue analysis and tissue procurement services, including routine research histology and immunohistochemistry as well as more specialized techniques such as in situ hybridization, cytogenetics, laser capture microdissection and tissue microarrays. Tissue procurement services include acquisition of archived biological materials or prospective procurement and appropriate processing and storage of fresh tissue or fluid. (Cancer Center)

Structural Biology Core Facility – supports routine and state-of-the-art (using the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne Natl. Lab.) crystallography and computational support for structural determination calculations, both NMR and crystallographic, computational drug-design, and modeling efforts, including advanced graphical visualization and manipulation of models. (Argonne National Laboratory)

Transgenic and Targeted Mutagenesis Core Facility – generates transgenic mice (by pronuclear injection of investigator provided DNA) and provides all services required to generate knock-out (or knock-in) mice, from targeting of ES cells through the generation of the germline competent chimeric mice. Conditional gene targeting strategies utilizing Cre/loxP and Flp/FRTrecombinase systems can be implemented. (Cancer Center)

Cancer Therapeutics & Diagnostic Screening Core – two components, cell-based screening and animal models, are under development, and the Cancer Center has given high priority to its full implementation. This Core will enable investigators to screen new compounds or biologic agents in cell-based assays and in animal models and to assess the effects in appropriate animal models (orthotopic, genetically altered) of such agents or of over- or under expressing genes of interest.

In addition to the internal resources, NU is an active participant in the NCI caBIG initiative. Northwestern is a funded participant in the following caBIG workspaces: the Clinical Trials Management Systems Workspace (CTMS), the Integrative Cancer Research Workspace (ICR), the TissueBank/Pathology Tools Workspace (TBPT) and the cross-cutting Architecture Workspace. NU has multiple statements of work involving projects in each of these workspaces, and is committed to bringing the vision and practice of caBIG to CCNE research activities. Toward that end, work is underway to develop microarray and proteomics analysis tools (in particular adopting caArray and developing the Rproteomics tool), as well as workflow tools for tissue banking and sample management. NU is also actively working with the Architecture group to develop both computational and data use cases for sharing data and algorithms between cancer centers. These activities are all relevant to the NU-CCNE projects and provide many natural synergies between caBIG and the NU-CCNE.

Additionally, the NU-CCNE includes a Nanofabrication Core Facility under the direction of Professors Vinayak Dravid and Teri Odom. The Nanofabrication Core provides two distinct services for the NU-CCNE: (1) advanced analytical tools for nanoscale characterization and (2) nanotechnology tools—specifically, nanopatterned biosurfaces and nanoparticle probes. This Core is a unique resource that combines the expertise of a large group of scientists and engineers in nanotechnology with cancer researchers and clinicians. The Core also serves to nucleate the development of a local community with expertise in nanoscale synthesis, patterning, and characterization of materials coupled to biologically relevant molecules. Such expertise will increasingly be called upon as the impact of nanotechnology on cancer research can be transitioned to the clinical stage.