Staff scientists in core research facilities accelerate and broaden biomedical discovery

These labs were selected for the move because of their related research themes, similar technologies, and the need for more space. Chris Calabrese, PhD, director of Basic Science Programs, explains how scientists from previously isolated core labs may benefit from a more collaborative environment in the new space.

“Developing this suite of resources in a single location will allow for the seamless exchange of technical expertise, enhancement of operational efficiencies and, importantly, free up laboratory space for the recruitment of research faculty,” Calabrese said. “One lab may be sequencing nucleic acids while another is looking at protein sequences, but they are ultimately using complementary tools to improve our understanding of the biology and help answer the same scientific questions.”

Core labs offer more support, less risk for academic departments

Many universities and research hospitals operate shared resources and core facilities to make available advanced technology to academic and clinical investigators. Such facilities began to appear on research campuses a generation ago, particularly as DNA sequencing and bioinformatics services became more accessible.

Core labs are highly specialized and often named after the equipment or techniques hosted there. Faculty in academic departments request and pay for experiments, assays or computation from resource labs instead of purchasing expensive equipment and running the experiments on their own.

Thanks to the generosity of countless donors, the shared resources and core facilities at St. Jude are remarkable in terms of funding, advanced technology, and world-class talent.

The scientists of specialization

Core labs give faculty researchers access to advanced—and speedy—scientific instruments, but their long-term value lies in the caliber of scientific talent operating the services and designing experiments. Approximately 120 staff researchers and technologists work in the institutional cores, many of whom hold PhDs, while nearly 40 more work in the shared departmental labs.

“While the shared resources have changed over my 20 years at St Jude, these scientists’ commitment to advancing institutional research has been unwavering,” said virologist Richard Webby, PhD, faculty member in the Infectious Diseases department and director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals at St. Jude.

While the complexity and cost of first-rate scientific technology continue to expand, core lab scientists serve as experts in their areas and can perform experiments more efficiently than departmental scientists can do in their labs. In this way, principal investigators and their staff run less risk of failed analysis while trying an unfamiliar technique that has already been mastered by a core lab scientist.

“Researchers at other institutions may have the same instrumentation,” said Aaron Pitre, PhD, staff scientist in the Light Microscopy Core Facility, “but they may not have access to a backbone of imaging scientists. We can take that cutting-edge, cool science and make it a little bit cooler and, hopefully, get more data out of it at a faster pace.”