Genomic Technologies Core
The DRC creates a Center to link separate research efforts into a greater whole and promote a global diabetes research environment. The establishment and continuing development of Core Facilities provides DRC investigators with training, service and/or access to materials, techniques and instruments required to conduct diabetes research.
The mission of the Genomic Technologies Core is to provide access to advanced gene editing and genomic manipulation technologies to facilitate creation of novel animal models and systems for both targeted and genome wide analyses in diabetes research. The Genomic Technologies Core supports research needs common to multiple researchers for which collective implementation improves research capabilities through the following objectives:
-
Provide access for DRC investigators to technically challenging services in the genetic manipulation of cells or organisms to address research questions related to diabetes.
-
Leverage genomic services already present at campus-wide UCSF facilities and coordinating their activities to meet DRC-specific needs.
-
Facilitate the use of advanced genetic technologies to modify the genomes of cells using lentivirus-based gene insertion methods, targeted recombination using standard knock-in/knock-out technologies or next-generation CRISPR/Cas9-based genome-editing methods.
-
Obtain and modify cell lines and organisms through transgenesis, the injection of modified ES and iPS cells into blastocysts or through the direct injection of CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing systems into zygotes.
-
Provide cost savings by acting as a centralized aggregator of knowledge for the highly specialized technical and intellectual expertise in gene modification technologies and their applications.
-
Enable DRC researchers to archive mouse strains through cryopreservation and re-derivation facilities.
-
Coordinate development and adoption of new methods to provide cutting edge genomic strategies and genetic modification capabilities to DRC researchers. Importantly, DRC support has been pivotal for helping the Core develop the next-generation TALEN and CRISPR/Cas9 technologies, and the capability to make transgenes and knock-outs directly into the diabetogenic NOD-mouse strain, an essential tool for the studies of many UCSF DRC laboratories. DRC support has enabled the Core to rapidly innovate and implement the cutting-edge tools that are essential to modern diabetes research.