We put our specialized experience to practice, for every client to understand the unique needs of each program and to meet timelines and budget goals. The PCRC nexus provides a broad and integrated portfolio of facilities and services to enable product discovery and testing through cost-effective and efficient solutions. Our scientists work closely with clients to screen for lead compounds, test cell-based therapeutics and medical services, determine their efficacy, and unravel their MOA using an array of in vitro and preclinical animal models of disease. Please contact Dr. Richard Klemke (pcrc@health.ucsd.edu) to discuss how the PCRC nexus can best serve your specific needs.

Research expertise includes, but is not limited to the following disciplines:

Cancer Biology and Immune Oncology

Immunology and Infectious Disease Research

Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders

Neuroscience and Cognitive Disorders

Stem Cell and Placental Research

Facilities and Equipment

The PCRC is a large integrated network of clinical facilities, research laboratories, integrated centers and specialized cores equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to assist you with your specific needs. No job is too big or too small for the PCRC.

The Center for Advanced Laboratory Medicine (CALM) provides a broad range of clinical laboratory and pathology outreach services to support today’s most challenging healthcare and research needs. Our services include routine, day-to-day diagnostic testing for physician offices, clinics, and long-term care facilities to the latest specialized, esoteric testing required by other hospitals, integrated healthcare delivery networks, and major transplantation and organ/tissue donor centers, as well as serving as a centralized referral center for clinical trials in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.

The Tissue Processing Lab and Advances Tissue Technology Facility houses a Ventana Medical Systems Discovery Ultra Biomarker Automated Slide Preparation System, a Li-Cor Odyssey Infrared Imaging System (with In-Cell Western and Fluorescent-labeled ELISA modules) for Western antibody validation, dual-mode UV-Vis micro-volume spectrophotometer (Nanodrop 2000c), 2 automatic tissue processors, 2 embedding stations, and both motorized and manual microtomes.

Biomarker analysis on intact tissue can be performed using three different modalities: 1) immunohistochemistry, 2) immunofluorescence, and 3) in situ hybridization using multiple detection systems. The Tissue Technology Center uses a fully automated Ventana Discovery Ultra slide preparation system that can reproducibly perform ICH, ISH, FISH and Qdot immunofluorescence techniques on the same instrument platform. The platform permits time-effective optimization of the most sensitive/specific detection method for any biomarker(s). IHC, ISH, FISH, and FITC tests may be performed independently or simultaneously. The capability to perform IF/FISH or IHC/ISH techniques on the same tissue section permits the greatest flexibility in the localization of biomarker expression, including miR expression. The system provides extensive options to perform multiple assays (up to 30 slides per run) for more accurate semi-quantitative Immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence and an efficient capability for methods development to validate and to develop new biomarkers.

Animal Research is a key strength of the PCRC. Our scientists have extensive experience in a wide range of preclinical animal models of disease, and will work closely with the client to determine the best disease model for their specific needs. Our scientists are experienced in delivering experimental agents and devices to animals by a wide variety of routes to test activity/efficacy. The veterinary medical staff provide care to different species of vertebrate animals used in research and can accommodate special housing and environmental conditions needed for specific disease models. The animal use and care program is fully accredited by the AAALAC (https://www.aaalac.org) and the UCSD Animal Care Program is a team of dedicated professionals committed to improving human and animal health, and promoting advances in science through interactions with the PCRC and its clients. The PCRC diagnostic services provide a broad spectrum of clinical pathology and morphologic pathology services for research support (e.g., phenotype characterization, safety/toxicology testing, individual animal model-related tests), as well as colony and individual animal health diagnostics and care. PCRC animal models in house include but are not limited to:

• 

• 

• 

Collaborations

The Advanced Cell Therapy Laboratory (ACTL) offers expert assistance and hands-on services to investigators who require cGLP/cGMP systems and facilities. We aid in the transition from research and development to compliant and clinically relevant manufacture of cell therapy products for IND-enabling studies of Phase I/II trails. The ACTL provides leading-edge services for the development and production of innovative cell therapy products. We aid with cell banking, process scale-up, product characterization, document writing, product stability assessment, and packaging.

The Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center accelerates the development of drugs and cell therapies inspired by and derived from current human stem cell research. These advancements establish, promote, and disseminate clinical trials and patient therapies that will help more quickly transform promise into reality.

Center for Drug Discovery and Innovation (CDDI) researchers are inventing technologies to accelerate the process of drug discovery, and working on treatments for cancer, heart disease, parasitic infections, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and other unmet needs.

Shared Core Facilities

UCSD maintains numerous core facilities that are accessible through the PCRC. Most of these core facilities are set up as recharge cores and offer highly competitive academic pricing options for PCRC-client driven projects.

Specialized Instrumentation and Services

Our scientists specialize in the most advanced instrumentation to support today’s most complex and challenging healthcare and research needs.