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Cores

Administrative Mentoring and Recruiting Core

Director: Jian-Xing Ma, MD, PhD., Laureate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Physiology
Associate Director: Steve Chernausek, MD, Professor and Director of Childrens Metabolism Research Institute
Administrative Coordinator: Barbara Turek

This Core will be responsible for overall administration of the CoBRE including selecting PJIs and mentors, establishing the mentoring program, overseeing the overall budget, organizing meetings of EAC and IAC, organizing seminar series, interacting with all the core directors and PJIs, following the progress and milestones of PJI’s projects and submit progress report to NCRR, and recruiting new investigators to Oklahoma Diabetes Center. This Core will also work closely with the Provost and Dean to recruit new investigators to Oklahoma through the OUHSC Strategic Plan.

For questions concerning the Administrative Mentoring and Recruiting Core, please contact:

Barbara Turek
BSEB 302
405-271-3909
barbara-turek@ouhsc.edu

Diabetic Animal Core

Director: Jian-xing Ma, M.D., Ph.D., Laureate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Physiology
Associate Director: Yun Le, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Department of Medicine Endocrinology
Coordinator: Kelu Zhou, M.S.

Purpose of the Diabetic Animal Core

Due to the fast growing diabetes research in OUHSC, there are increasing demands for core research facilities for diabetes research community. The Diabetic Animal Core is to provide services for diabetes researchers in Oklahoma.

Rodent models of chemical-induced diabetes or genetic diabetes are commonly used in diabetes research. Diabetic animals have a high mortality rate and require intensive care and characterization. Diabetic complications tend to occur only long after the onset of diabetes, and long-term maintenance and monitoring of diabetic animals are associated with high costs and labor-intensive. The objective of this Core is to centralize the induction, breeding, monitoring, and maintenance of diabetic animal models, to reduce the work load of individual PIs. This Core has also established and is managing a repository of diabetic animal tissues, to coordinate the sharing of diabetic animal tissues among diabetes investigators.

Services of the Diabetic Animal Core

  1. Induction of diabetes by STZ injection in rats or mice, or through transgenic or gene knockout mice as needed by investigators. STZ-induced diabetes is a commonly used Type 1 diabetes model. Because STZ is a compound with high toxicity and carcinogenicity, laboratories using STZ are required to complete an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) application process and to have safety approved procedures and chemical hoods. All laboratories using STZ are also subject to regular inspections. All workers handling STZ are required to receive special training. STZ-contaminated waste will be collected separately, treated and disposed according to IBC guidelines.  We long ago learned that it is counter-productive for each PJI lab to obtain a separate approval for using STZ, thus the Core induces diabetes by injections of STZ for all the diabetes researchers. This centralized use of STZ reduces the time and paper work for these researchers and also ensures safety compliance. In the induction of diabetes, an experienced Core will also enable beginners to avoid common mistakes and free them from a time-consuming learning process in STZ induction. 
  2. Breeding and genotyping of genetic diabetic mice and rats. Most genetic diabetes animal models do not reproduce if homozygous. These models include db/db and ob/ob mice and Zucker rats. Homozygous Akita mice do not survive past 1 month. Heterozygous Akita mice are diabetic and will be bred with wild-type mice. All of these genetically diabetic animals require genotyping. The Core will be responsible for breeding and genotyping as requested by researchers. For the inventory of diabetic animal models, please see Diabetic Animal Core Animal List .
  3. Monitoring diabetes by measuring hyperglycemia and provision of insulin injections when necessary. The Core will test and record blood glucose levels on a regular basis. When blood glucose exceeds the desired range, insulin can be injected to save the life of the diabetic animal.
  4. Collection and recording clinical data from diabetic animals. In addition to measures of glycemia, body weight, urine volume, urine glucose level, food and water consumption will be recorded on a regular basis. These data will be provided to the PJIs when they receive the animals or tissues.
  5. Monitoring renal function of diabetic animals. Urine albumin and creatinine and serum creatinine levels will be measured on a regular basis or as requested by individual users to monitor the renal functional damage in diabetic animals.
  6. Provision of special diets for diabetic animals. Some studies require special diets. The Core will be responsible for dietary control, based on user requirements.
  7. Induction of retinal neovascularization in the oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model. OIR mice and rats are commonly used models for retinal ER stress, inflammation, vascular leakage and neovascularization. The Core is equipped with a chamber with an oxygen controller. The Core will induce retinal neovascularization in mice and rats.
  8. Performing specialized assays to evaluate diabetic complications. The Core will perform vascular leakage assays and glomerular filtration rate assays upon request.
  9. Dissection of tissues and coordination of sharing of tissues from diabetic animals. The Core will dissect tissues such as heart, kidney, retina, liver, brain, skeletal muscle as well as collect serum from diabetic animals for researchers. The Core will also expand our existing tissue bank of diabetic animal tissues and will coordinate sharing of these valuable specimens. This will maximize the use of diabetic animals and reduce costs of experiments using diabetic animals. For the inventory of the diabetic animal tissue repository, please access Diabetic Animal Core Tissue Bank and Service .

Diabetic Animal Core Director:  Jian-Xing (Jay) Ma, MD, PhD, Laureate Professor and Chairman, Department of Physiology
Tel: (405) 271-4372
Fax: (403)271-3973
Email: jian-xing-ma@ouhsc.edu
Mailing Address: 941 Stanton L. Young Blvd., BSEB 328B Oklahoma City, OK 73104-5020

Coordinator: Kelu Zhou
Telephone: (405) 271-5896 ext. 48421
Email: kelu-zhou@ouhsc.edu
Mailing Address: 941 Stanton L. Young Blvd., BSEB 331 Oklahoma City, OK 73104-5020

Histology, Image Acquisition and Image Analysis Core

Co-Director: Jody Summers, PhD, Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Co-Director: Xi-Qin Ding , PhD, Professor, Department of Cell Biology

The purpose of the Histology, Image Acquisition and Image Analysis Core is to provide to the PJIs and diabetes funded investigators, both paraffin and cryostat tissue processing, embedding, sectioning, and histochemical staining of mounted slides. In addition, the core provides the expertise, along with state of the art instrumentation for researchers to obtain high quality images using a variety of microscopic instruments, including confocal, two-photon excitation, light, epifluorescent, and Nomarski optics. Further, the core also provides multiple software packages and workstations for data acquisition and post-imaging processing/analysis to allow for the production of publication quality images. Both the Imaging and Histology components of the core are recharge centers.

Histology Core Facility
The purpose of the Histology, Image Acquisition and Image Analysis Core is to provide PJIs and diabetes funded investigators tissue processing, embedding, sectioning, and staining of mounted slides, for both paraffin embedded and cryo-preserved tissue preparations. The core facility has a trained histology technician who will work with the researchers to accomplish these goals. Equipment that is available for use are: 1) Thermo Scientific CryoStar NX70 Cryostat, 2) Thermo Scientific HistoStar Embedding Workstation, 3) Leica CM 3000 Cryostat, 4) Nikon Eclipse FL inverted photomicroscope. There is also a new Olympus FV120 Virtual Slide Scanner that can digitally scan up to 100 glides per run in either brightfield or four-channel fluorescence mode. We have implemented a shared calendar in which users can schedule time to use the cryostats, fluorescence photomicroscope, and Virtual Slide Scanner in the core. Information on how to add the shared calendar to your Outlook Exchange account will be sent after you are added to the calendar by the histology technician. PJIs are given priority and the order by which materials are processed, cut and stained is determined by when materials are received.

A description of the core facilities, user manuals, and specimen submission forms are located on the Cell Biology Core Equipment webpage.

For use of the histology facility contact:

Cindy Bulmer
cynthia-bulmer@ouhsc.edu
BMSB 527
271-8001, ext. 45507

For questions on the Histology component of the Core Facility contact:

Dr. Xi-Qin Ding, Co-Director
Professor, Cell Biology
xi-qin-ding@ouhsc.edu
BRC 456
271-8001 ext. 47966

Image Acquisition and Image Analysis Core Facility
The purpose of the Image Acquisition and Image Analysis Core is to provide diabetes-centered researchers the expertise and instrumentation to obtain microscopic images using instruments such as confocal, two-photon excitation, bright field, epifluorescence, phase contrast, and Nomarski optics. The core also provides multiple software packages and PC workstations for data acquisition and post-imaging processing/analysis to produce publication quality images. Specifically, the core contains an Olympus FV 1000 laser scanning confocal microscope equipped with 6 different laser lines, 6 objectives from 10X to 100X, and sensitive, fast response photomutiplier detectors to scan samples; an Olympus FV 1000MPE multiphoton laser scanning microscope equipped with a Mai Tai DeepSee tunable (690-1040 nm) high power, ultrafast laser, a 25X water immersion objective along with interchangeable objectives ranging from 10X to 100X magnification (dry, water, and oil immersion) for the scanning of thicker samples (<2000 micron); an Olympus Provis AX-70 photomicroscope equipped with bright field and epifluorescence illumination for phase contrast and fluorescence measurements with a Q-imaging digital camera and Q-capture software; and an Olympus MVX 10 macro zoom microscope that allows for long working distances and larger fields of view along with a DP71 digital camera and Image Pro plus to acquire images. In addition, the image analysis workstations provide Olympus Fluoview, Adobe Photoshop, Image J, Volocity, Image Pro Plus and Autoquant Deconvolution software for post-image processing. Investigators wishing to use the facilities’ equipment reserve times using an online signup system through the campus network specifically dedicated for image core equipment. Researchers and staff are personally trained/instructed by the core manager, a certified microscopist, on how to use the equipment in the facility and apply post-imaging processing techniques to the acquired data.

For questions on the Core Facility contact:

Dr. Jody Summers, Co-Director
Professor, Cell Biology
jody-summers@ouhsc.edu
BRC 266
271-8001 ext. 46478

Diabetic Human Sample Repository (DHSR)

Director: Jonea Lim, MD, Associate Professor, Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.
Associate Director: R. Hal Scofield, MD, Professor of Endocrinology

Objectives and Services
The mission of the Diabetic Human Sample Repository (DHSR) is to develop a biorepository that will enhance translational diabetes research by providing potential investigators with access to unique patient collections and new recruitment opportunities to aid their diabetes research programs. The goal of this Core will to be to establish and expand a repository consisting of de-identified clinical data and specimens from patients with diabetes who receive care at the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center (HHDC) and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC).

The DHSR will bring together clinicians at the HHDC with research scientists at the OUHSC and Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) while leveraging and expanding the biorepository infrastructure and resources available at OMRF. This Core will facilitate the interactions across three different institutions by serving as a centralized point coordinating biological sample procurement, processing, storage, and distribution. The linking of these samples with associated clinical, demographic, therapeutic, and disease state measures will increase their value to the research community and further their use in diabetes research.

The goals of the DHSR Core are to:

  • Facilitate clinical sample and clinical data acquisition and regulatory compliance. The DHSR will ensure that subject enrollment, clinical assessments and sample procurement procedures meet rigorous standards of good clinical practice and adherence to human subject use regulations. By performing services in informed consent, regulatory reporting, oversight of the welfare of clinical study participants, and provision of expert clinical assessments using validated disease assessment instruments, the DHSR will support and expand the research opportunities of all Diabetes COBRE investigators.
  • Process, code, and store repository samples for future use by COBRE investigators. The DHSR will ensure timely, College of American Pathologist (CAP) Biorepository certified, protocol-driven processing, coding, storage, and tracking of human biologic samples.
  • Distribute samples and associated clinical data to COBRE investigators. Extensive clinical, demographic, disease state, and disease complication data are available for patients treated at the HHDC/OUHSC. The DHSR will serve as a central hub for distribution of clinical information and associated samples of patients and controls for approved projects, facilitating their use in translational research.

For any questions, please email jonea-lim@ouhsc.edu