Nortwestern Rheumatology Research Facilities: overview

The Division of Rheumatology occupies about 4,000 square feet of lab space at Northwestern University, newly constructed in 2004. It includes cell incubators, laminar flow hoods, phase contrast and inverted fluorescent microscopes, a new state-of-the-art computer-assisted real-time RT-PCR apparatus acquired in late 2007, PCR thermal cyclers, and microplate readers.
 
In addition, Division of Rheumatology researchers have access to all shared equipment and resources in the Division and its collaborating Divisions and Departments. These core facilities include: 1) the Cell Imaging Facility, which provides three laser scanning confocal microscopes and two transmission electron microscopes, as well as support for microinjection and live-cell imaging; 2) the Biotechnology Laboratory, which provides automated DNA isolation and sequencing, microarray hybridization and analysis, and protein identification; 3) the siRNA Library Core, which provides researchers with the latest in whole-genome RNAi collections; and 4) The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, which contains multiple core laboratories including a Flow Cytometry Core that includes new instruments with multi-laser and high-speed sorting capabilities, an Immunoassay Development Core, a Histopathology Core, a Monoclonal Antibody Development Core, and a Biostatistics Core.
 
All of the Division’s resources are co-located on the same floor of a single building on the campus, and the resources of our collaborating Divisions and Departments are all accessible in adjacent buildings via interconnecting enclosed walkways.