Columbia Stem Cell Initiative Stem Cell Core Facility

CORE FACILITY PROFILE

Core Facility: Columbia Stem Cell Core
Institute: Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Location: New York, NY, USA
Website: stemcell.columbia.edu/services/stem-cell-core

About
The Stem Cell Core Facility is one of the two core facilities of the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative (CSCI), the major stem cell program at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The Stem Cell Core Facility was created to help users take advantage of up-to-date resources in the stem cell field in a timely and cost-efficient way. We have two primary aims: to give users access to quality-controlled pluripotent stem cells and stem cell-derivatives prepared using standardized approaches; and to offer genome editing services for the generation of custom-designed cell lines. We also offer training sessions. Some reagents commonly used in stem cell labs are also available at discounted prices. All services are available to investigators at any academic or for-profit institution on a fee-for-service basis.

Background
The Stem Cell Core Facility was launched in 2014 thanks to a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Grant to Dr. Christopher Henderson, the CSCI director at that time, and with the support from the Dept. of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine and the Taub Institute at Columbia University. Since the arrival of Dr. Emmanuelle Passegue, the current CSCI director, the Stem Cell Core is housed in a newly renovated space in the William Black Building, together with the Flow Cytometry Core and five other labs. Services The Cell Production section of the CSCI Stem Cell Core Facility offers: maintenance and supply of human ESC/iPSC; derivation and characterization of hiPSC from fibroblasts or blood; and differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into functional, mature, highly purified progenies (including neuronal, cardiac, retinal pigment epithelium, hepatic, pancreatic and skeletal muscle). The Gene Editing section of the Stem Cell Core Facility uses the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to provide various services, including insertion of transgene, targeted single nucleotide modifications, and knock-out.

Training
The CSCI Stem Cell Core Facility offers on-demand basic hPSC culture training, as well as hPSC differentiation training. These are both hands-on tutorials. We also welcome interns and visiting scientists to join the team on a short-term basis.

Collaboration
The CSCI Stem Cell Core Facility is committed to foster formal and informal interactions between scientists from multiple laboratories working on different stem cell models. We are connected to COREdinates, a consortium of pluripotent stem cell-focused core facilities, which facilitates the sharing of the most updated and efficient protocols, expertise, and reagents.

Team
The director of the CSCI Stem Cell Core Facility is Barbara Corneo, PhD. The team includes two Associate Research Scientist: Achchhe Patel, PhD, head of the stem cell engineering section; and Dario Sirabella, PhD, head of the cardiac and skeletal muscle section. All members are involved in training, reprogramming, and the differentiation of hPSC into various progenies.

Images:

The director Barbara Corneo pictured with Dario Sirabella (left) and Achchhe Patel (right) (pre-COVID-19) (credit: CSCI)

Dario Sirabella (left) and Achchhe Patel (right) in the lab (credit: CSCI)

The facility welcomes scientists for experience and training; pictured is Grazia Iannello, PhD, currently training in iPSC derivation (credit: CSCI) 

The Stem Cell Core Facility is housed in a newly renovated space; pictured L–R: Barbara Corneo, Achchhe Patel, and Dario Sirabella (credit: CSCI)

A friendly welcome awaits you at CSCI; pictured L–R: Barbara Corneo and Jenny Perez Bruno, technician in Passegue lab (credit: CSCI) 

Profile submitted by: Barbara Corneo

Page last updated: October 23, 2020