Shared resources: core facilities and resources for research

Throughout Mayo Clinic and its three campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, scientific facilities and offices house 12 shared resources that support cancer research at the basic, translational, clinical and population sciences levels.

Shared resources are crucial to the mission of Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and its cancer research initiatives.

Shared resources provide numerous valuable resources, including access to cutting-edge instruments, technologies, testing and scientific consultation. Shared resources provide training and education along with services that allow researchers to explore new approaches to their work and innovate novel ways to perform experiments, analyze data and use technology. Shared resources expand capabilities, foster collaboration and accelerate discovery and its translation into new strategies to treat cancer.

Through the Cancer Centers Program of the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), NCI-designated cancer centers such as Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center are characterized by scientific excellence and the ability to integrate diverse research methods to focus on cancer. NCI grants help fund cancer research initiatives at designated cancer centers, including assistance for shared resources at Mayo Clinic.

Two of the 12 shared resources are overseen by the Cancer Center:

The other 10 shared resources part of Mayo Clinic Research Core Facilities are:

Bioinformatics
Biospecimen Accessioning and Processing
Biostatistics
Genome Analysis
Immune Monitoring
Microscopy and Cell Analysis
Pathology Research
Proteomics
Survey Research
Transgenic and Knockout

In addition, Spatial Analytics is a new shared resource still in development.

Bioinformatics shared resource

The Bioinformatics Core serves as a shared resource within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Bioinformatics Core provides bioinformatics services and collaborative research support to Cancer Center investigators engaged in genomics research. The core supports every stage of cancer research, including study design, data acquisition, data analysis and publication.

The Bioinformatics Core also facilitates collaborative research opportunities between Cancer Center researchers and bioinformatics faculty members. The core closely partners with the Mayo Clinic information technology team to develop bioinformatics workflows and systems to process and analyze different types of omics data.

Jean-Pierre A. Kocher, Ph.D., leads the Bioinformatics Core.

Biospecimen accessioning and processing shared resource

The Biospecimen Accessioning and Processing Core serves as a shared resource within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Biospecimen Accessioning and Processing Core provides vital services needed in basic, translational and epidemiological cancer research protocols, including:

Specimen accessioning and processing.
Nucleic acid extraction.
Electronic biospecimen tracking.
Kit production and fulfillment.
Storage.
Shipping.

Mine Cicek, Ph.D., leads the Biospecimen Accessioning and Processing Shared Resource within the Cancer Center.

Biostatistics shared resource

The Biostatistics Shared Resource provides collaborative statistical support for investigators in Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center who are conducting basic, translational, clinical and epidemiological cancer research.

Statisticians in the Biostatistics Shared Resource are disease focused, providing a high level of specialized expertise for all Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center programs and Disease/Discipline Oriented Groups.

Teams within the Biostatistics Shared Resource offer expertise in:

Cancer clinical trials, including associated translational research, interventional psychosocial research, and patient and public education research.
Population science, including studies involving genetic and molecular epidemiology.
Cancer quality of life, such as studies investigating the impact of clinical and psychosocial interventions on patients, families and caregivers.

The Biostatistics Shared Resource is a cancer-focused extension of the Biostatistics Core at Mayo Clinic. The Biostatistics Core offers standard biostatistical services, such as protocol design, data collection, and data analysis and reporting.

Services

For Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center members, the Biostatistics Shared Resource provides:

No-charge initial consultations on projects with Ph.D.-level or master's-level biostatisticians who have particular expertise in the investigator's area of cancer research.
Funding for meritorious cancer research projects that are approved by the Cancer Center and would otherwise go unfunded.
Short-term funding to supplement unexpected gaps associated with an NCI-funded award.

Funding for subsequent biostatistical consultation on a project is expected to be included in a principal investigator's budget for external grants.

Contact

Karla V. Ballman, Ph.D.
Director
Email: ballman.karla@mayo.edu

Amylou C. Dueck
Co-Director
Email: dueck.amylou@mayo.edu

Genome analysis shared resource

The Genome Analysis Core serves as a shared resource within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Genome Analysis Core offers Cancer Center researchers access to state-of-the-art genomics technologies to study gene structure and function, including next-generation sequencing, gene expression, genotyping, and DNA methylation services, including:

Deep-sequencing studies of RNA and DNA.
Genotyping and methylation analyses.
Reduced representational bisulfite sequencing.
Spatial biology analytical resources.

Stephen J. Murphy, Ph.D., and E. Aubrey Thompson, Ph.D., lead the Genome Analysis Shared Resource.

Immune monitoring shared resource

The Immune Monitoring Core serves as a shared resource within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Immune Monitoring Core provides Cancer Center researchers with access to advanced technology and specialized expertise to study complex biological systems using high-dimensional, single-cell techniques, including:

Mass cytometry sample processing and data acquisition.
Sample barcoding for mass cytometry.
Tissue sectioning, tissue processing and data acquisition for spatial imaging.
Custom panel design and validation.
Data analysis, including mass cytometry and spatial biology.
Cell sorting.
Miscellaneous immunological assays.

J.C. C. Villasboas Bisneto, M.D., and Hirohito Kita, M.D., lead the Immune Monitoring Core.

Microscopy and cell analysis shared resource

The Microscopy and Cell Analysis Core serves as a shared resource within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Microscopy and Cell Analysis Core provides several services to Cancer Center investigators conducting clinical or basic science cancer research, including:

Optical microscopy.
Electron microscopy.
FACS cytometry.
Data analysis.

Many specialized techniques and analysis methods are available within these service areas.

The Microscopy and Cell Analysis Core team offers training for instrumentation use and aids in designing, planning and executing experimental studies using high-end imaging, flow cytometry and cell sorting. The team also provides cyberinfrastructure for efficient data storage, management, transfer and analysis of image data files.

Jeffrey L. Salisbury, Ph.D., leads the Microscopy and Cell Analysis Core.

Pathology research shared resource

The Pathology Research Core serves as a shared resource within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, providing histological and related services to support tissue-based science to Cancer Center investigators. These services include procuring fresh, frozen and fixed clinical and animal tissues and preanalytical processing and analytical functions, including immunohistochemistry and assistance with morphological interpretation.

Services available in the Pathology Research Core include:

Assistance with collecting and storing fresh, frozen and fixed tissues.
Tissue sectioning for hematoxylin and eosin staining; immunostaining, RNA in situ hybridization (RNA-ISH), multiplexed imaging, laser-capture microdissection, and DNA, RNA and protein isolation.
Frozen sectioning of fresh tissues, including potentially infectious specimens.
Staining optimization protocols for commercially or internally developed antibodies.
Automated immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and RNA-ISH.
Whole-slide brightfield and fluorescence scanning.
Tissue microarray construction.
Fluorescence multiplexed imaging.
Anatomic pathology services provided by cytotechnologists.

Thomas J. Flotte, M.D., leads the Pathology Research Core.

Proteomics shared resource

The Proteomics Core serves as a shared resource within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Proteomics Core provides Cancer Center investigators with cutting-edge proteomics technologies to solve important biomedical questions in cancer research, including discovering novel biomarkers, identifying potential therapeutic targets, dissecting mechanisms underlying disease, and developing diagnostic assays.

The experienced staff members of the Proteomics Core provide Cancer Center investigators with access to expertise in cancer biology and signaling, mass spectrometry, protein and peptide chemistry, protein separation, liquid chromatography, protein quantification, peptide synthesis, and proteomics data analysis.

Equipped with cutting-edge technologies, the Proteomics Core provides comprehensive mass spectrometry and nonmass spectrometry-based proteomics services, including:

BioSITe to identify biotinylated peptides.
Data-independent acquisition (DIA)-based high throughput quantitative proteomics.
Human proteome microarrays.
Immunopeptidome analysis.
Interactome analysis of protein-protein and protein-DNA/RNA interactions by co-immunoprecipitation.
Olink Explore HT analysis of about 5,400 proteins.
Peptide synthesis.
Peptide microarrays customized for specific applications.
Protein characterization, including posttranslational modifications and cleavage sites.
Single-cell proteomics using mass spectrometry.
Single-cell functional proteomics on the IsoSpark platform for secreted proteins.
Tandem Mass Tag (TMT)-based quantitative analysis of proteins and posttranslational modification, including acetylation, phosphorylation and ubiquitylation.
Targeted assay development for absolute quantitation of proteins.

The Proteomics Core evaluates the latest proteomics techniques with the goal of implementing advanced state-of-the-art instrumentation and novel technologies to push boundaries in cancer research.

Akhilesh Pandey, M.D., Ph.D., leads the Proteomics Core.

Survey research shared resource

The Survey Research Center serves as a shared resource within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Survey Research Center facilitates high-quality science in the Cancer Center by providing researchers with consultation and services for all aspects of survey design and conduct.

These services include:

Survey design and draft review.
Review of other survey materials, such as recruitment materials and consent scripts.
Support for qualitative survey methods, including semistructured interviews, focus groups and cognitive interviews.
Expertise in data collection and web-based survey design (Qualtrics and REDCap), scannable (optical mark recognition) paper survey design and scanner programming, and nonscannable paper survey design.
Double data entry for nonscannable paper surveys.
Survey administration via flyers, social media, email, text, postal mail and telephone interviews.
Survey project management, from initial consultation through delivery of data to the client, including tracking responses with a customized Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Relationship Management system.
Education about survey research methods and best practices.

Kathleen J. Yost, Ph.D., leads the Survey Research Center.

Transgenic and knockout shared resource

The Transgenic and Knockout Core serves as a shared resource within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Transgenic and Knockout Core generates transgenic and gene-targeted animal models for cancer research projects that explore the underlying causes of cancer.

Transgenic and gene-targeted mouse models enable Mayo Clinic cancer researchers to study in vivo how the overexpression of specific genes and their mutants is involved in the initiation, progression and metastasis of certain types of cancer in people.

Services include:

CRISPR-Cas9-mediated editing of genes of interest in fertilized eggs to generate knockout and knockin animal models with inactivated or tagged genes, or with introduced point mutations, reporter genes, loxP sites, or large deletions.
Founder screening, founder breeding, sperm cryopreservation, recovery of cryopreserved mouse strains through in vitro fertilization, and standard histopathology.
Novel transgenic and gene-targeted strain generation, cryopreservation of lines, and in vitro fertilization.
Advice on DNA preparation and animal model genotyping, handling and husbandry.

Darren J. Baker, Ph.D., M.S., leads the Transgenic and Knockout Core.