Biomedical Research Core Facilities
Summer 2020 Newsletter
The Perelman School of Medicine is proud to support our integral research core facilities and research teams. Please stay safe and be well!
In this issue:

  • Virtual Cores Day - September 24th, 2020
  • PSOM Staff Spotlight
  • Core Facilities Spotlight
  • CVI Metabolomics Core Facility
  • PennVet Extracelluar Vesicle Core Facility
  • OCRC Tumor BioTrust
Virtual Cores Day - September 24th, 2020
In partnership with CHOP, we are delighted to announce Cores Day will be held virtually on September 24th, 2020!

The event and will feature live 10-15 minute core facility presentations throughout the morning, with 30 minute "Office Hour" style sessions in the afternoon.

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about core facilities and their services in a safe and socially distant way.

Please stay tuned for more details, and feel free to contact April Weakley (aweakley@pennmedicine.upenn.edu) with any questions or concerns.

We look forward to seeing you on September 24th!
PSOM Staff Spotlight
The new Office of the Executive Vice Dean and Chief Scientific Officer (EVD/CSO) website now features a “Staff Spotlight” to highlight the accomplishments (both personal and professional) of PSOM’s incredible staff. Please complete the form below if there is a staff member (from a core facility, or throughout PSOM!) you would like to celebrate:
 
 
Please note this is an ongoing feature with no deadline; staff names will be happily accepted at any time via the above form. 

Feel free to contact Kaitlyn Hagarty (Kaitlyn.Hagarty@pennmedicine.upenn.edu) with any question or concerns. 

Core Facilities Spotlight: CVI Metabolomics Core Facility
"Full Steam Ahead"
by Chris Petucci Ph.D.
CVI Metabolomics Core Facility Director
The Metabolomics Core has been going full steam ahead to serve several Penn research investigators since opening the core on June 8 as part of Phase I resumption of research. We have been busily working on completing a 3 month backlog of 9 funded research projects that amount to a significant portion of our annual budget. Our approved plan to resume operations includes staff who will work in the core, pre-start up activities, social distancing protocols including use of PPE and interaction with customers, cleaning and disinfecting protocols, and prioritization of projects. Some of the projects that we have completed have been used by research investigators for the submission of a grant (untargeted metabolomics of rat Achilles tendon microdialysate for Professor Lou Soslowsky), support of a graduate student thesis (Sanika Khare in the Celeste Simon Lab), submission of a manuscript to Cell Host and Microbe (Professor Frederic Bushman), and initiation of a COVID-19 research project (Professor Maayan Levy). Over the past 2 weeks, we had another 5 project requests from research labs as they ramp up their research programs during Phase II.   
Core Facilities Spotlight: Penn Vet Extracelluar Vesicle Core Facility
The Extracellular Vesicle (EV) Core Facility located in PennVet’s Rosenthal building is excited to announce that we have successfully reopened our services for Phase 1 of UPenn’s research resumption plan. We are providing full-service options only at a 20% discount. To schedule services and a sample drop off, please contact the director, Dr. Rachel DeRita at rmderita@upenn.edu. Please visit our website https://www.vet.upenn.edu/research/core-resources-facilities/extracellular-vesicle-core for more details on our services and Phase 1 procedures.

During the extended period of time restricted to remote work, the EV Core is proud to say we have also remained active in providing letters of support for numerous grant proposals. Furthermore, we have been offering and consultations and revision services for both grant proposals and manuscript submissions. We continue to offer these services in addition to remote consultations on general experimental design involving EVs.

The EV Core is additionally excited to announce that, in response to an increased need for distance-based learning and education, we have begun a bi-weekly webinar concerning the rapidly expanding multidisciplinary field of EV research. We discuss relevant topics in EV research and additionally host speakers from multiple backgrounds such as biophysics, engineering, immunology and cancer research as well and additionally discuss other technical topics such as quantification and characterization techniques, experimental design and cutting edge discoveries in EV biology. We provide a safe space for faculty and their trainees at any level to share their research related to EVs and spark a dialog within the group via a round table discussion and Q&A session after the presentation. Anyone interested in attending these online webinar meetings or presenting their work via Microsoft Teams on alternate Thursdays at 1PM please contact Dr. Rachel DeRita at rmderita@upenn.edu. Our next meeting will be on Thursday 8/13/2020 at 1PM. Please submit your comments, suggestions and any questions to this email address as well.

Best Regards,

Rachel DeRita, Ph.D
Director, Extracellular Vesicle Core Facility
University of Pennsylvania
School of Veterinary Medicine
3800 Spruce Street
Room 204/205
Lab: 215-573-8423
Office: 215-573-8215
Mobile: 267-575-0161
Core Facilities Spotlight: OCRC Tumor BioTrust Collection
The Ovarian Cancer Research Center Tumor BioTrust Collection is open and is operating during Phase II in compliance with a set limit of 50% capacity. Our team is operating under the new staffing schedule, 6:30 am – 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm – 10:00 pm.

We continue to collect fresh cancer tissue specimens, as well as plasma, serum, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), blood and other biological samples from all cases of ovarian cancer patients. We handle collection, processing, storage, and distribution of primary and recurrent ovarian tumor samples as well as blood. We also house formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) samples. Samples collected through the Penn Legacy Tissue Program (PLTP) (e.g. rapid autopsy) are also available and a quote can be provided upon request.

We will also work with investigators to prospectively collect specific samples to support their research within Penn research community as well as in outside institutions and bio-tech/bio-pharma companies.
In order to protect our users and staff, we have implemented ‘no contact’ sample pick-ups and drop-offs.

We are offering the following sample types:

  • Fresh Tumor Tissue
  • Frozen Tumor Tissue
  • Enzyme Digested Tumor Cells
  • Serum
  • Plasma
  • Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC)
  • OCT
  • Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded (FFPE)
  • Tissue Microarray (TMA)
  • Samples from rapid autopsies

More info about the core and pricing can be found at:
Contact Us
Ovarian Cancer Research Center Tumor BioTrust Collection
Ehay Jung, Technical Director
Smilow CTR 08-191A
3400 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-746-5137
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