# Cell Biology Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2024 · $128,673

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The Cell Biology/Morphology Core provides BADERC investigators with technical support, equipment, advice
and expertise for cell biological, immunocytochemical and morphological studies related to cell/membrane
biology and signal transduction; cellular immunology and islet cell biology; and vascular and endothelial cell
biology. The Core is located within the MGH Program in Membrane Biology facility on the 8th floor of the Simches
Research Center, which is adjacent to the MGH main campus. The Core Director, Dr. Brown, is an expert in the
area of membrane biology, membrane proteins, and intracellular trafficking. He has a long and well-documented
track record of operating Core facilities at MGH over the past 25 years, including this BADERC Core for over 20
years. The goal of this Core is to provide access to integrated cellular imaging solutions and related expertize for
problems in Diabetes and other BADERC-targeted research areas that few or no isolated laboratories have the
resources to develop individually. The Cell Biology Core is designed, therefore, to maximize the use and
availability of specialized pieces of equipment, that are not only prohibitively expensive for many laboratories,
but that also require expensive and regular maintenance, and appropriate technical expertise to use. The Core
performs all aspects of microscopy from routine immunofluorescence imaging, confocal microscopy, and
(immuno)electron microscopy. The Core is especially proud of its record in successfully attracting NIH Shared
Instrumentation Grants (SIGs) and institutional support over the years. With support of Core users, we have
obtained 6 SIGs in little more than 12 years, the most recent of which was a $450K award in 2016 for a new
Zeiss LSM800 Airyscan confocal platform that offers high sensitivity/high resolution imaging and analysis
capabilities to BADERC users. Our other major confocal platform, a Nikon A1R confocal system, offers real time
imaging in a temperature controlled chamber, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and fluorescence
recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and a SIG (for $300K) that was submitted in May 2021 to request major
upgrades received an outstanding score of 20 and should be funded. We also offer laser cut microdissection
and total internal reflection imaging. We also offer routine embedding and sectioning, and basic
immunofluorescence incubation expertize. A major and important objective of the Core is to provide training of
key personnel from participating laboratories, a strategy that has worked very successfully over the prior funding
periods. Dr. Brown and his highly-qualified technical support staff have well-established and proven procedures
for maximizing Core use in the context of varied projects and specific experimental requirements. We pay special
attention to quality control procedures for image capture and analysis, and we have protocols for antibody
verification to comply with current ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10841564
- **Project number:** 5P30DK135043-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Dennis Brown
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $128,673
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-05-15 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10841564

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10841564, Cell Biology Core (5P30DK135043-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10841564. Licensed CC0.

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