Health Sciences Library
Weiskotten Hall
766 Irving Avenue
Syracuse, N.Y. 13210
Phone: 315 464-7091
Research Facilities
SUNY Upstate has numerous world-class research facilities for faculty and students. We also share resources with universities and research centers in Syracuse and throughout Upstate New York. Here is a look at some of the main core facilities on the SUNY Upstate campus.
Bioluminescence Imaging Core
This new core facility is designed to allow investigators to obtain quantitative, real-time, in vivo bioluminescence data from mice and rats. Located in the Institute for Human Performance (IHP) it is equipped with an IVIS Imaging System with an isoflurane anesthesia unit. Currently it is being used to monitor and quantify tumor growth in mouse models of breast cancer, bone cancer and lymphoma. Additional planned uses include real-time monitoring of viral infections in SCID-hu mice.
Biophysical Analysis
State-of-the art instruments are available to researchers for biophysical characterization of macromolecules in solution. These instruments include an Isothermal Titration Calorimeter (ITC) to measure binding interactions between proteins and various ligands, an AVIV circular dichroism spectrometer to characterize secondary and tertiary structure of biomolecules in solution and several fluorimeters for spectroscopic analysis.
Center for Bioresearch Imaging
The Center for Bioresearch Imaging enables researchers to acquire, process, and export high-quality images of research material. The center has a Bio-Rad MRC1024 confocal microscope and two photomicroscopes, a Nikon Eclipse 800 and a Nikon TE2000 Inverted microscope, for digitally capturing epifluorescent, phase contrast, and Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) images. These instruments use high resolution digital cameras to simultaneously image live cells in two colors, and for Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET). Image processing includes 3D reconstruction, DIC-fluorescent overlay, area and volume measurement, cell migration tracking, and deconvolution.
In addition to the center, there are other state-of-the-art microscopes located throughout the University. The Zeiss Core Facility in the Institute for Cardiovascular Research has two microscopes: an Axiovert 200M (inverted) and an Axioskop II FS MOT (upright) with portable scanhead LSM510 META NLO. The system is a Laser scanning confocal microscope with added multiphoton excitation (IR) and spectral detector capabilities. It has three independent simultaneous confocal channels for reflection and fluorescence. This highly automated system uses a PC-based interface to control microscope, laser excitation, scanning, and image acquisition. 3D image reconstruction and multiple time series software are also available.
The Department of Cell and Developmental Biology houses a state-of-the-art Nikon Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscope with FRET capabilities, and has recently acquired a Leica SP5 confocal microscope and a Leica AF6000 LX deconvolution microscope. The TIRF system allows detailed real-time imaging of structural and signaling molecules directly adjacent to the plasma membrane that is in contact with the substrate, such as those in adhesion and endocytic structures. The TIRF technique provides enhanced signal-to-noise ratio, which greatly enhances the spatial and temporal resolution. The Leica SP5 Confocal Microscope is a state-of-the-art laser scanning confocal microscope with 7 laser lines and 5 detectors allowing up to 5 fluorescent labels to be visualized simultaneously. The spectral scanning feature of the SP5 enables discrete identification of spectral patterns within a specimen and enables fine distinction between signal and background. The AF6000 LX deconvolution microscope is equipped with a Leica DFC350FX digital camera and a Roper Cascade II EMCCD camera to acquire high resolution images with low intensity illumination. Both of the Leica microscopes are fitted with environmental chambers to enable short and long term imaging of live cells. They also have tile and spot scanning features that enable the acquisition of 3-D images from multiple points in the specimen at various time intervals. All three of these systems contain a FRET component which can detect binding between two different proteins within a cell and also conformational changes within a protein thereby visualizing changes in protein activation.
Center for SCID-hu Mouse Models of Viral Diseases and Cancer
Comprised of faculty from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, this center offers world-class facilities and expertise for pre-clinical, in vivo testing of antivirals, vaccines and chemotherapies. Services also include evaluation of cell tumorigenicity, in vivo expression of gene therapy vectors using human adult stem cells, and in vivo maturization of embryonic stem cells. The animal facility includes a three-room negative pressurized suite approved for immune deficient mice infected with human pathogens and has been outbreak free for the past decade. Additional facilities include an IVIS whole animal imager and a MicroCT scanner.
Computer Modeling Resources
Our computer modeling facility includes two Microway parallel clusters each equipped with 16-nodes dual processors (total 64 processors) running at a peak performance of 141 gigaflops. Each node has 1GB of RAM with exception of the 2 masters that have 4 GB of RAM a piece. In addition we operate about 30 specialized scientific applications for biomedical data acquisition and analysis, calculation of electrical impulses in biological tissue, searches in databases of biochemical compounds and animation of numerical simulations. Our geometrical model reconstruction package includes a Zeiss Axio Microscope (Imager.A1) with computerized stage coupled to the Bioquant Life Sciences Package and the Topographer Toolbox for automated histological registration and numerical mesh generation of large scale preparations.
Department of Laboratory Animal Resources
The Department of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR) occupies approximately 27,000 square feet in three separate on-campus locations. DLAR is accredited by AAALAC International and includes facilities for the housing, surgery and support of a wide variety of animal species used in biomedical research. DLAR is home to the Center for SCID-hu Mouse Models of Viral Diseases and Cancer, one of very few facilities of its kind in the world.
DNA Core Facility
The DNA Core Facility provides automated DNA sequencing of single stranded and double stranded DNA samples from purified plasmids and PCR products. Samples are sequenced using BIG DYE Version 3 terminators from Applied Biosystems and are run on an ABI 377 DNA Sequencer. This sequencer uses a four color dye system and provides 450-700 bases of usable sequence data per reaction. A Cepheid Smartcycler Real Time PCR instrument is also available.
Electron Microscopy
A full-time specialist maintains the Electron Microscopy facility, which contains a JEOL-100CX transmission electron microscope. Peripheral equipment includes a Reichert-Jung FC4E and several Dupont MT2-B ultramicrotomes for both frozen and plastic-embedded thin sectioning, a Cressington CFE-50 freeze fracture apparatus, a Denton DV-502 vacuum evaporator, an Anantech Hummer X glow discharge unit, and equipment for developing and digitizing EM films.
In an effort to use electron microscopy to determine the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules, scientists at SUNY have set up a cryo-electron microscopy facility, which is equipped with a 200 kV JEOL JEM-2100 transmission electron microscope, a bottom mount 2048X2048 pixel CCD camera (Tietz HD224) and a cryo transfer holder (Gatan 626) for observation of frozen hydrated specimen. The microscope and the camera are computer controlled and operated and the system is set up for data collection via remote control. Data analysis for three-dimensional reconstruction from images of single molecules and two-dimensional crystals is done in IMAGIC, EMAN and the MRC software package running on Silicon Graphics and Macintosh G5 workstations and the 12 CPU Linux-cluster available in the department of Biochemistry.
Flow Cytometry Core Facility
The Flow Cytometry Core Facility has expanded to include cutting edge technology designed to identify and characterize normal and malignant cells. With this technology, scientists are able to identify and isolate rare cells (stem cells, residual cancer cells, cells infected by virus, etc.) present at frequencies of less than 1 in 10,000.
The Facility acquired a Becton Dickinson Vantage SE Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter with digital computer control and turbo sort speed, which analyzes and sorts cells at a rate of 25,000 per second. In addition to the cell sorter, the Facility acquired a Becton Dickinson LSRII cell analyzer. This instrument is equipped with three lasers and multiple detectors that are capable of detecting eight different cellular parameters on a single cell.
Research Imaging: MRI and MicroCT
SUNY Upstate maintains a dedicated MRI research facility with a 1.5 Telsa, Philips Intera, whole body MRI scanner. The scanner is capable of a wide range of neurofunctional imaging as well as clinical protocols, including those used to visualize anatomy and to obtain localized NMR spectra.
Micro-Computed Tomography Scanner, MicroCAT II® (Siemens), is a state-of-the-art tool for investigating morphology and physiology in living small laboratory animals. This equipment allows non-invasive high-resolution imaging of the same living animal over time to perform lateral studies, e.g. to monitor the progression of disease or the response to therapy.
SUNY Microarray Core Facility(SUNYMAC)
SUNYMAC is a full-service DNA microarray processing lab that performs Affymetrix GeneChip© technology and other microarray platforms. Microarrays are highly useful tools for examining both gene expression patterns and gene sequence variants (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in biological samples of interest. For targeted or cell-specific analysis of biological samples, SUNYMAC has a Leica Laser Microdissection instrument and Agilent Technologies Bioanalyzer. These instruments permit full-scale expression profiling from as little as 20 to 30 cells. SUNYMAC also provides on-site training in both gene expression and genetic linkage analyses. Users can analyze their own data from desktop computers via internet access to the core facility data server.
Systematic Genetic Analysis
In the post-genome sequence era many techniques and reagents have become available for high-throughput analysis of genetic interactions in complex genomes. Many of these capabilities are available to researchers at SUNY Upstate including whole genome ordered sets of gene knock-out strains and the robotics necessary to automate manipulation of these strains. Our genomics facility allows investigators to uncover multi-gene interactions such as synthetic lethality, suppression and synthetic haplo-insufficiency keeping Upstate at the forefront of understanding complex genetic interactions within eukaryotic genomes.
X-ray Crystallography
Our state-of-the art X-ray crystallography facility includes a powerful Excalibur PX Ultra X-ray tube complete with a large CCD detector, a Xenon derivatization chamber, and various cryo-tools for crystal manipulation and freezing. Crystallographic computing is carried out on a dedicated 12CPU multiprocessor computer cluster and four Silicon Graphic Fuel workstations. The computer cluster is powered by the new Itanium III 64-bit processor and has 8GB of RAM per node and a storage array of 2 terabytes. Overall, we operate about 20 specialized scientific applications for macromolecular crystallography, molecular dynamic, and visualization. The facility serves the growing research in structural biology and is geared toward solving high-resolution structures of proteins and nucleic acids.
Health Sciences Library provides access to:
Over 1,800 full text electronic health sciences journals; an extensive collection of eBooks
Streaming media such as the Bates Guides to Physical Examination
A variety of online resources such as:
MEDLINE
CINAHL
Cochrane Library
Krames on Demand
Scopus
UpToDate
The Library provides direct access to its catalog and electronic collections through: www.upstate.edu/library
Open access computer use and three computer classrooms are available.
The first floor has more than a dozen computers with Internet access. These are intended for health related research and are open to the general public.
The second floor computing center is reserved for those with Upstate IDs and offers about 50 computers (MAC & PC) with Internet access.
The Library is open, on average, 106 hours per week.
Last Modified: Oct 24, 2008
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