UCI Experimental Tissue Shared Resource Facility

Overview
The UC Irvine Experimental Tissue Resource (ETR) provides four major types of service (outlined below). The ETR is a Shared Resource funded in part by the Chao Family NCI-Comprehensive Cancer Center Support Grant (P30CA062203) from the National Cancer Institute, and has facilities both on the UC Irvine campus as well as at the UC Irvine Medical Center. ETR services are available to both on- and off-campus investigators.

Services
Tissue Procurement and Interpretive Histopathology Consultation
The ETR coordinates most human tissue collection efforts at UCI, providing fresh, frozen or archival human tissues for research use in a manner consistent with IRB approval. The main campus location of the ETR (Medical Sciences, room D426D) is a specimen drop-off point for researchers. The ETR also provides human and murine histopathology evaluation and consultation on a case-by case basis. The medical center facility is located within the histology lab for the hospital.

Tissue Histology and IHC services
The ETR provides standard histological services, including embedding, FFPE and frozen block sectioning, staining (including cytochemical stains) preparation of recut slides or tissue shavings for nucleic acid extraction and IHC staining. In addition, equipment and services are provided for immunofluorescence or FISH, automated immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, optimization of non-standard IHC protocols, and extraction of nucleic acids from archival FFPE tissues via the Pathology Department’s division of Diagnostic Molecular Pathology. Equipment includes tissue processors (Sakura Tissue Tek VIP-5 and VIP6), embedding stations (Tissue Tek TEC-5), microtomes (Sakura), tissue floatation baths, and other routine histology instruments. Automated H&E staining is performed on a Leica autostainer, and IHC is performed on a Ventana Benchmark ULTRA stainer. Nucleic acid extractions are prepared in the division of Diagnostic Molecular Pathology (DMP) on a Promega Maxwell automated DNA extraction robot.

Laser Capture Microscopy (LCM)
The LCM core is located in room D448 in Med Sci I on the UC Irvine main campus. The core facility consists of a Leica AS-LMD instrument, paired with a Leica CM- 3050 cryostat for specimen preparation.

Mouse Pathology
The ETR provides mouse pathology services (mouse necropsy, histopathology consultations, consultation on tumor models and experimental design). The Director of the ETR, Dr. Rob Edwards has over 20 years of expertise with mouse pathology and is a board-certified medical pathologist. ETR Assistant Dr. Wang has approximately 30 years of animal tumor model experience and is also available for consult and assistance.

Get more information here or at the Experimental Tissue Resource site.

Co-Director: Robert Edwards, M.D., Ph.D.
Telephone: 949-824-8576
Emailredwards@hs.uci.edu

Co-Director: Wendy Cozen, DO, MPH
Telephone: 714-456-512.
Email: wcozen@hs.uci.edu 

Manager: Delia Tifrea, Ph.D., M.B.A
Telephone: 714-872-1093
Email: dtifrea@hs.uci.edu

Irvine Campus Address
Medical Science Building 1, Room D-426A
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697

Medical Center Address
334 Shanbrom Hall
UC Irvine Medical Center
101 The City Drive
Orange, CA 92867