To encourage translational research at USC, we are pleased to announce a call for proposals for screening a 3,000 compound library at The Choi Family Therapeutic Screening Facility within the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC. The screening facility was recently established with a generous donation from The Choi Family Trust.
Dr. Andy McMahon, director of the center, will sponsor up to two screens that broadly encompass health goals relating to regenerative medicine. Dr. Stephen Gruber, director of the Norris Cancer Center, will also support up to two screens that focus on cancer. Image-based screening is preferred.
Located in room 205A of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, the facility is equipped with several automated imagers, including the Nikon BioStation and the Cellomics Imager, and is obtaining a Molecular Devices ImageXpress Micro and a liquid handler Echo 550TM, capable of dispensing compounds at a volume of as little as 2.5nL at high speed. Dr. Shenghua Zhou, a senior scientist, helps investigators set up small molecule screens at the facility.
The compounds can be chosen from the following collections:
- MicroSource Discovery System, Inc. (msdiscovery.com/spectrum.html)
- NIH Clinical Collection (nihclinicalcollection.com/product_info.php)
- EMD Millipore Kinase Collection: Cat. No. 539744, 539745, 539746 and 539747 (emdmillipore.com)
- EMD Millipore StemSelect® Small Molecule Regulators Library: Cat. No. 569744
- Cayman Chemical Epigenetics Collection (https://www.caymanchem.com/app/template/Product.vm/catalog/11076)
Interested investigators are encouraged to contact Qing (Ching) Liu, program director at the Broad Center, for an application form. The deadline for proposals for the regenerative medicine screens is April 15th at 5 p.m.; the deadline for proposals for the cancer-related screens is April 30th at 5 p.m.
The Choi Family Screening Facility Oversight Committee, chaired by Dr. Justin Ichida, will review the the regenerative medicine-related proposals to start screening as early as May 15th, and a special review committee will be formed to review the cancer-related proposals to start screening as early as June 1st. Proposals should be sent as an email attachment with the subject line “Screening Competition” or “Cancer Screen” to:
Qing (Ching) Liu, PhD
qliumich@med.usc.edu
323-442-8094