The Starr Foundation Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Derivation Laboratory

The Starr Foundation Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Derivation Laboratory (SCDL) at Weill Cornell Medical College is a shared lab and support facility that serves researchers working with pluripotent stem cells. Our main goal is to provide centralized access to multiple technologies that enable the derivation, differentiation, characterization, isolation and functional assessment of pluripotent stem cells and their tissue-specific derivatives.

The SCDL provides a range of functions that are focused in these key areas:

Pluripotent Stem Cell Banking

The SCDL serves as a repository for more than 43 human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC)  lines that were derived from blastocysts donated following fertility treatment at Weill Cornell Medical College. Many of these lines were developed from embryos carrying genetic mutations identified by preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), thus providing pluripotent stem cell lines that may be used to model genetic disease. Furthermore, new technological approaches to somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) to generate pluripotent stem cell lines from skin biopsy have been investigated for potential future derivation of patient-specific stem cells that could be applied in regenerative therapies. Click here for the list of WMC lines. Nikica Zaninovic, Ph.D. and Qiansheng Zhan, Ph.D. as WMC hESC investigators.

Pluripotent stem cell banking
A 7 day old human embryo (blastocyst) is shown at the left with nuclei pseudo-colored to identify unique cellular sub-types. At this stage of development, the first distinctions between unique cell types is made, with trophoblast shown in red, primitive endoderm shown in green and the inner cell mass shown in blue. Inner cell mass ultimately generates all cell types in the embryo and can be isolated and cultured in vitro to generate embryonic stem cells (shown at right). These embryonic stem cells can be propagated indefinitely in vitro while retaining the ability to differentiate to all the specialized cells/tissues of the body in vitro.

Live Imaging

An imaging suite adjacent to the tissue culture facility contains three Zeiss inverted microscopes capable of live image capture; an Apotome system using a LED based Colibri light source; a 510META Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (LSM) with five laser lines; and a 710META Confocal LSM with six laser lines. All three microscopes are equipped with stage mounted incubation devices that enable precise environmental control (CO2, O2, humidity, temperature) during live image capture.

Live Imaging Core Facility Access times and Fee

510 META

Monday - Friday 9am-5pm
$40/hour for extramural users with discounts for active Starr Foundation Tri-SCI funded users.
Off hours (by appointment only)
$80/hour for extramural users with discounts for active Starr Foundation Tri-SCI funded users.

710 META

Monday - Friday 9am-5pm
$75/hour for extramural users with discounts for active Starr Foundation Tri-SCI funded users.
Off hours (by appointment only)
$125/hour for extramural users with discounts for active Starr Foundation Tri-SCI funded users.

Training $200 per individual.

Live imaging
On the left, a transgenic mouse embryo at day 8 post-fertilization is shown. This unique transgenic mouse strain enable specific labeling of endothelial cells (green) and cells that arise from heart progenitors (red). Nuclei (grey) and a marker of the primitive heart field (blue) are also shown. On the right, a similar transgenic embryo is shown at day 10.5 post-fertilization with endothelial cells shown in green and heart cells shown in red.

Flow Cytometry and Sorting

A BD LSRII Flow Cytometer and a FACS ARIAII Cell Sorter are also available within the SCDL. Each device is capable of measuring up to 22 parameters on cells at a flow rate of up to 20,000 cells per second. The ARIAII can sort for distinct populations and captures cells in sterile conditions that are suitable for transfer to sustained in vitro tissue culture.

Flow Cytometry Core Facility Access Times and Fees

BD LSRII FLOW CYTOMETER

Monday - Friday 9am-5pm
Unassisted: $40/hour for extramural users with discounts for active Starr Foundation Tri-SCI funded users.
Assisted: $75/hour for extramural users with discounts for active Starr Foundation Tri-SCI funded users.

Off hours (by appointment only)
Unassisted: $60/hour for extramural users with discounts for active Starr Foundation Tri-SCI funded users.
Assisted: $100/hour for extramural users with discounts for active Starr Foundation Tri-SCI funded users Training $150 per individual

Cell Sorting Core Facility Access Times and Fees

FACS (BD FACSARIAII)

Monday - Friday 9am-5pm
$80/hour for extramural users with discounts for active Starr Foundation Tri-SCI funded users.
Off hours (by appointment only)
$120/hour for extramural users with discounts for active Starr Foundation Tri-SCI funded users.

Flow cytometry and sorting
A single heterogeneous population of cells was labeled using antibodies that were conjugated to multiple different fluorescent molecules. Using the FACSAriaII or LSRII instruments that are capable of distinguishing up to 22 parameters on a cell, multiple phenotypically unique populations can be distinguished among blood cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. In this example, megakaryocyte (green), erythroid (yellow) and myeloid (pink and red) cells are shown, along with multipotent progenitor cells (blue) that generate all of the above populations.

For more information or to schedule services, contact Tyler Lu at (212) 746-5985 or SCDL@med.cornell.edu.
The SCDL of Weill Cornell Medical College is located at 1300 York Ave, A-803 NY, New York 10065.