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Research

College of Medicine Research Core Facilities

The UC College of Medicine houses a number of research core facilities designated as core service centers. These facilities exist within multiple departments but are collectively supported by the College of Medicine, Office of Research through the Associate Dean for Research Core Facilities: Ken Greis, PhD. (ken.greis@uc.edu; Tel: 515-558-7012).  

The service center designation signifies that the rates charged by each of these facilities have been reviewed and approved by the UC government cost compliance office, thus the service fees can be cross-charged to federal grants and contracts. Details related to the services offered and the internal rates for each of the cores are provided below. Since these rates are substantially subsidized by the University, external investigators should contact individual core directors to get a rate quote.

Resources to offset some of the cost of the core services may be available through a variety of centers and institutes across UC depending on an investigator’s affiliation. Information related to some of those opportunities and the website links are provided below:

 

Close up view of neurons
core

Contact Information

UC Histopathology Core Laboratory (UCHCL)

The UC Histopathology Core Laboratory (UCHCL) is a CLIA certified, fee-for-service core facility in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.  The mission of the UCHCL is to provide expertise and tissue histology services in support of clinical and research initiatives.

Services:

  • Routine histology services - tissue processing, embedding, and sectioning
  • Histochemical staining
  • Immunohistochemical staining
  • Immunofluorescence
  • In situ hybridization
  • Tissue microarray construction
  • Whole slide digitial imaging
  • Access to archived diagnostic tissue for research purposes

Acknowledgement

For manuscripts, please include the following information in the acknowledgments section: "Histology services were provided by the University of Cincinnati Histopathology Core Laboratory."

Please consider co-authorship for UCHCL personnel who make significant contributions to your project. The Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) provides the following authorship guidelines: https://abrf.org/authorship-guidelines.

Please notify the UCHCL of assisted publications and grants. Acknowledgement of our services helps to ensure the continuation of UCHCL support and services.

Grant Information

Please contact Kelsey Dillehay McKillip for information on core capabilities, specific instrumentation, and letters of support.

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ServiceCost
HISTOLOGY SERVICES
 N/A
Tissue processing and embedding (per tissue block)
 $4.00
Embed/Re-embed (per tissue block)
 $2.25
Tissue sectioning - first slide (per slide)
 $3.75
Tissue sectioning - additional slide from same block (per slide)
 $2.00
Tissue scrolls - 5 x 5 µm standard (per scroll)
 $4.00
H&E staining (per slide)
 $5.50
Histochemical staining (per slide)
 $16.00
Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining:
 N/A
Core Lab antibody:
N/A
Level I (per slide)
 $21.00
Level II (per slide)
 $24.00
Level III (per slide)
 $27.00
Investigator's antibody (per slide)
 $18.50
Dual Color Upcharge (per slide)
 $12.50
IHC staining optimization - cost per slide plus tech time (per hour)
 $32.00
Immunofluorescence (IF):
 N/A
Core Lab antibody:
 N/A
Level I (per slide)
 $22.50
Level II (per slide)
 $25.00
Level III (per slide)
 $30.00
Investigator's antibody (per slide)
 $20.00
IF staining optimization (per hour)
 $32.00
In situ hybridization:
 N/A
Core Lab probes (per slide)
 $100.00
Investigator's probe (per slide)
 $50.00
ISH optimization (per hour)
 $32.00
RNAScope:
 N/A
Core Lab probes:
 N/A
Singleplex (per slide)
 $185.00
Duplex (per slide)
 $250.00
Multiplex (per slide)
 $305.00
Investigator's probe(s):
 N/A
Singleplex (per slide)
 $145.00
Duplex (per slide)
 $180.00
Multiplex (per slide)
 $200.00
RNAScope optimization (per hour)
 $32.00
TISSUE MICROARRAY SERVICES
 N/A
Tissue microarray set-up - includes case identification, representative H&E's, slide scanning, layout creation, etc. (per hour)
 $32.00
Pathologist consult - case identification, placing punches, etc. (per hour)
 $158.00
Core transfer fee - covers alignment and drill/punch costs (per core)
 $7.00
Unstained TMA section (per slide)
 $15.50
WHOLE SLIDE SCANNING
N/A
Standard slide scan and temporary storage - 20x (per slide)
 $7.00
TMA slide scan and temporary storage - 20x (per slide)
 $11.50
CONSULTING
 N/A
Pathologist slide interpretation - average 5 minutes/standard slide (per hour)
 $158.00
Director (per hour)
 $79.00
Technician (per hour)
 $32.00
MISCELLANEOUS
 N/A
Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) Usage - Unassisted (per hour)
 $60.00
Archived tissue slide/block retrieval (per hour)*
 $32.00
Case identification/medical chart abstraction (per hour)
 $32.00
Slide box - small (per box)
 $6.50
Slide box - large (per box)
 $9.00
DVD (per DVD)
 $2.50
Rush fee
 plus 50% total
Pass-through expenses
 variable
What are your hours of operation and where are you located?

Our hours of operation are Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.  The UCHCL is located in Medical Sciences Building, Room 1252.

How do I request services?

Please complete the Service Request Form.

The completed form must be provided at the time of sample submission.  Samples should be submitted in leak proof containers.  You can provide your own slide boxes or purchase them from the UCHCL.

What type of tissue can be submitted for processing, sectioning, and staining?

We accept a large variety of human and animal tissue types including soft tissues and bone. 

How do I fix my tissue samples?

Tissues should be fixed prior to submission to the UCHCL. 

Common fixatives include 10% NBF (neutral buffered formalin) and 4% PFA (paraformaldehyde).  Note: PFA is unstable and should be prepared fresh daily for optimal results.

Harvested tissues should be trimmed to size and placed in labeled tissue cassettes.  Cassettes must be labeled with pencil.  For optimal fixation, tissues should be approximately 2 x 2 x 0.5cm in size (e.g., the size of a postage stamp and thickness of a nickel).  Submerge the tissue in fixative (10% NBF preferred) at room temperature for a minimum of 24 hours.  The ratio of fixative to tissue should be 20:1.  Following fixation, tissue should be transferred to 70% ethanol. 

Please contact the UCHCL if you have project specific questions regarding fixation.

What are your target turnaround times?

Targeted turnaround times:

   - Processing and embedding: 1-3 days.
   - Unstained slides: ≥ 1 day depending on the total number of         
     blocks, number of slides/block, and special sectioning requests.
   - H&E staining: 1-3 days.
   - Special staining, IHC, IF, and ISH: variable depending on the
     complexity of the project and current workload.
   - Digital slide scanning: ≥1 day depending on the total number of
     slides.
   - Tissue microarray construction: variable depending on the
     complexity of the project and current workload.

How do I know when my samples are ready?

You will be notified by email or phone when your samples are available.  Invoices will be prepared and sent to the requestor for payment.    

How do I access archived diagnostic tissues for research purposes?

The UCHCL serves as the custodian of archived diagnostic tissue for the Department of Pathology.

Requests for access to diagnostic tissue blocks for research and clinical trials should be made through the UCHCL.  

Diagnostic slides are not released for research purposes.  Diagnostic tissue blocks may be released to clinical trials for the purposes of treatment, diagnosis, prognosis, etc. with documentation of IRB approval and informed consent.  

The UCHCL can serve as an honest broker and provide de-identified tissue for research purposes.  Often, use of de-identified human tissue specimens and data does not meet the federal determination of human subject research.  However, we request all investigators submit and provide documentation of Not Human Subjects Determination.  Instructions can be found here: http://researchcompliance.uc.edu/hrpp/irb/NotHumanSubjects.aspx

Documentation of IRB approval must be provided for requests for individually identifiable tissue.

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