Center Core Grant for Vision Research
The National Eye Institute funded P30 Center Core Grant for Vision Research provides shared resources accessible to a group of independently-funded investigators to enhance their research capabilities and productivity. It also provides an environment conducive to collaborative scientific interactions and inter-disciplinary vision science research focused on advancing knowledge of the visual system and treatments for vision impairment.
Principal Investigator: Mahnaz Shahidi, PhD
Project Coordinator: Joseph Yim (joseph.yim@med.usc.edu)
There are three cores available through our Center Core Grant:
- generating and maintaining in vivo models of ocular diseases, performing surgical procedures, obtaining samples for genotyping, and harvesting ocular tissues;
- enabling investigators to use various in vivo ocular imaging and tissue function testing technologies; 3) training investigators and research staff on the utility and operation of ocular imaging and function testing equipment
- consultation regarding the appropriate animal models, surgical and imaging procedures to address research needs of participating investigators.
Core Faculty/Staff
Core Director: Jeannie Chen, PhD
Core Co-Director: Mark Humayun, MD, PhD
Core Staff:
- Research Specialist: Ying Liu, MD (yliu7710@usc.edu)
- Research Technician: Fernando Gallardo-Balderas
Equipment
Animal Surgery (available through the Translational Research In Vivo Core)
- Zeiss Operating Microscope
- Bausch & Lomb Stellaris PC Surgical System
- IRIDEX Oculight SL, and IRIDEX Oculight Tx lasers
- The IRIDEX Oculight Tx (Green 532 nm)
- Synergetics Photon II Laser System
Ocular Imaging (available through the Translational Research In Vivo Core)
- Heidelberg Spectralis OCT (anterior and posterior segment)
- Heidelberg HRT3 OCT (anterior segment, cornea)
- Heidelberg SLO/FA/ICG/OCT/OCTA
- Bioptigen/Leica Envisu R2210 SD-OCT (with mouse lens)
- Rodent alignment stage
- OTI scan 1000 Ophthalmic Ultrasound Tomography
- Heine Omega Binocular Indirect Ophthalmoscope
- Haag Streit Slit Lamp
- OcuMetrics Fluorotron Fluorophotometer
- Verasonics Ultrasound System
- Konica Minolta HS1 Portable Ultrasound System
- Lipiview2
Visual Function Assessment
- OcuScience HMsERG
- NS-Quanta OCT Integrated Laser & ERG/VEP system
- Visual Cliff Test
Multiphoton Imaging (available through the Multiphoton In Vivo Imaging Core)
- Leica SP8 AOBS Multiphoton Microscope
- Performing histology of ocular tissue specimens
- Enabling investigators to evaluate ocular tissues with the use of sophisticated light/confocal and electron microscopy and emerging imaging modalities
- Training investigators and their research staff on the utility and operation of cell and tissue imaging equipment
- Consultations on cell and tissue preparation and imaging for experimental design and appropriateness of techniques to achieve research goals
Core Faculty/Staff
Core Director: Sarah Hamm-Alvarez, PhD
Core Staff:
- Research Specialist: Stephen McMullen (Stephen.McMullen@usc.edu)
- Research Specialist: Xiaopeng Wang
Equipment
Optical Microscopy
- Zeiss Modular Laser Scanning Microscope – LSM 800 Airyscan, 3-Channel System
- Zeiss Axio Observer 7 Imaging System
- Zeiss AXIO Imager.A2 upright transmitted light and fluorescent microscope
- Zeiss Axioscan 7 Slide Scanner
- Axiocam 305 Digital Camera and Computer Workstation
- Keyence BZ-X800E
Histology Laboratory
- Microtomes (Leica RM2125RT)
- Tissue Processor (Leica TP1020)
- Embedding Station (Leica EG1150 H+C)
- Microscope (Leica CM)
- Cryostats (International equipment company Minotome, Reichert Histostat)
- Ultracut R Microtome (Leica)
- Dissecting Microscope MZ16 with DC camera and computer imaging station (Leica)
Electron Microscopy (available through the USC Core Center of Excellence in Nano Imaging)
- Helios G4 PFIB UXe DualBeam FIB/SEM
- JSM 7001F Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope
- Nova NanoSEM 450 Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope
- JEM-2100F Transmission Electron Microscope
- FEI Talos F200C G2 Biological Transmission Electron Microscope
Optical Imaging (available through the USC Optical Imaging Facility)
- Confocal Microscope: Leica SP-8X with Digital Light Sheet (DLS) (inverted configuration)
- Confocal Microscope: Leica SP-8X with Multiphoton Laser (upright configuration)
- Confocal Microscope: Zeiss LSM 780 AxioObserver.Z1 (inverted configuration)
- Confocal Microscope: Zeiss LSM 800: AxioObserver.M2 (upright configuration)
- Widefield Microscope: Leica Thunder Computational Clearing (inverted configuration)
- Wide-field Fluorescent Microscopes: Zeiss AxioImager.A1 (upright configuration)
- Wide-field Fluorescent Microscopes: Zeiss AxioObserver.A1 and Axiovert 200 (inverted configuration)
- Wide-field Fluorescent Microscope: Zeiss AxioZoom .v16
- Slide Scanner: Zeiss AxioScan.z1
Translational Imaging Center (available through the Translational Imaging Center)
- Two-Photon single plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) Light Sheet Imager
- Hyperspectral Phasor Imaging (HPI)
- Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM)
- developing, characterizing and optimizing biological, chemical, or mechanical drug delivery systems
- designing and fabricating custom devices and instruments that can improve or advance experimental procedures and research capabilities of investigators, particularly those involving delivery of therapeutics
- training investigators on the utility and operation of available instrumentation for the design and characterization of therapeutic drug delivery vehicles and devices
- consultations on the experimental design, appropriateness of the specific techniques, and integration of engineering techniques to escalate the progress of vision research projects
Core Faculty/Staff
Core Director: Andrew MacKay, PhD
Core Co-Director: Qifa Zhou, PhD
Core Staff:
- Research Specialist: Stephen McMullen (Stephen.McMullen@usc.edu)
Equipment
Ocular Biochemistry Laboratory
- Life Technologies QuantStudio 6 Flext rt-qPCR
- Agilent 1260 Infinity II analytical High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) equipped with an autosampler, UV-Vis multi-channel detector and fluorescence multi-channel detector
- Particle Metrix ZetaView Particle Tracking Analyzer for hydrodynamic particle size, zeta potential and concentration analysis
- Li-Cor Odyssey Fc ChemiDoc XRS system (multicolor fluorescent imaging system capable of imaging direct chemiluminescence, chemi-fluorescence and densitometric analysis)
- ChemiDoc XRS System (multicolor fluorescent imaging system capable of imaging direct chemiluminescence, chemi-fluorescence and densitometric analysis)
- Nanodrop One C UV-Vis Spectrophotometer for quantifying and qualifying DNA, RNA and protein samples.
- Molecular Devices SpectraMax iD5 plate reader with application for absorbance, viability studies, DNA/RNA quantification, ELISA, fluorescence, HTRH, luminescence, reporter gene assays
- Assorted preparative and analytical centrifuges
- Microcentrifuges and other small equipment for biochemical and molecular biological analysis
- Beckman Coulter Microfuge Centrifuge
- Ultra-low temperature freezer with liquid N2 backup (REVCO ULTIMA II -150°C)
- Low temperature freezers (-80°C)
- Thermo Fisher Flammable Materials Refrigerator/Freezer
- De-ionized water system (Milli-Q)
- Temperature-controlled shaking bacterial incubator (MaxQ6000, Thermo-Scientific)
- INTEGRA VIAFLO ASSIST Electronic Pipette for automated dispensing of reagents
- Ice Machine and Dry Ice supply
- Cold room
- Wet laboratory space
- Tissue culture space with biosafety hoods and incubators
Ocular Ultrasound Laboratory
- Ultrasound high resolution elastographic system
- Portable ultrasound vision systems
- Verasonics Vantage 128 ultrasound system
Ex Vivo Testing Laboratory (available through the USC Ginsburg Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics)
- Millennium surgical machine
- Surgical microscope with video camera
Electronics Shop (available through the USC Ginsburg Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics)
- Bose Electroforce 3100 mechanical measurement system
- Keithley Electrometer 6517A
- Tektronix TDS 5034B 4 channel storage oscilloscope
- A-M System 2200 pulse generator
- Agilent Precision LCR meter 4980A
- Signatone Probe Station
- Gamry Reference 600 and FAS1 Potentiostats
- Princeton Applied Research 273A electrochemical potentiostat
- Zwick Zwickiline (for Flexible Low-Force Testing) 500N
- Power supplies, multi-meters, function generators
Machine Shop (available through the USC Ginsburg Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics)
- Makerbot 3D printer with dedicated workstation
- CAD software
- Lathe, drill press, mill, and bandsaw
Nanobiophysical Core Laboratory (available through the USC NanoBiophysics Center)
- Biacore T100 surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument
- Size exclusion chromatography multiangle light scattering (SEC MALS) (Wyatt)
- Spectrofluorometer QuantaMaster 4 (PTI) with time-resolved accessories
- Nanoscope IIIa Atomic Force Microscope
- MicroCal isothermal titration calorimeter (ITC)
School of Pharmacy Core Facilities (available through the USC School of Pharmacy Core)
- 4 Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometers (LC-MS) electrospray systems
- DynaPro2 (Wyatt)
- Circular Dichroism Spectophotometer J-815 (Jasco)
- Jobin Yvon Fluorolog-3 (Horiba)