# Gene and Cell Delivery Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2023 · $99,227

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY – GCD CORE
The Gene and Cell Delivery (GCD) core will be a new component of the UCLA vision research
core grant. The establishment of this core is in response to the research demands by UCLA
vision scientists to deliver reagents to the retina, RPE, and other ocular tissues for the purpose
of investigating basic mechanisms and preclinical testing of therapeutic potentials. The GCD
core is consist of a biosafety level 2 (BSL2) viral vector production facility and a facility for have
a technical staff with molecular biology, cell culture, recombinant virus preparation expertise.
Ideally, the GCD staff will also have experiences of operating injection instrument and can teach
members of individual laboratories to perform subretinal and intravitreal delivery in neonatal and
adult rodents.
The GCD core will provide support for the production of recombinant viral vectors, mainly rAAVs
and lentiviruses. A website will be set up to provide available viral vector backbone information
and for individual labs to submit requests. Under the supervision of the core component director
Dr. X-J Yang, the GCD staff will use viral vector constructs and other necessary reagents
provided by individual investigator labs to perform transfection, harvesting, viral concentration,
and tittering procedures. The viral stocks produced by the GCD core will be tested by labs of
individual investigators.
The GCD core is equipped with necessary microscopes and micromanipulators to perform
intraocular injections in a designed BSL2 animal facility. The reagents to be delivered using
these equipment/instruments can range from nucleic acids, protein conjugates, nanoparticles,
recombinant viruses, small molecules, and human stem cell-derived cells. The same facility can
house post-operative mice deemed to need BSL2 containment.
The GCD core is expected to facilitate basic and preclinical research supported by NIH/NEI on
UCLA campus by providing effective tools and by enabling intraocular delivery in animal models.
1

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10655352
- **Project number:** 5P30EY000331-56
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Xian-Jie Yang
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $99,227
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-03-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10655352

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10655352, Gene and Cell Delivery Core (5P30EY000331-56). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10655352. Licensed CC0.

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