ANIMAL MODELS & HISTOLOGY CORE
| COBRE Core Facility
Dr. Karen Stokes serves as the Overall Core Director and is responsible for the administrative and budgetary needs of the Animal Models Core. Dr. Hugh Price serves as the Leader of the Histology and Genotyping Subcore. This subcore genotypes the mutant mice for COBRE project leaders, and offers a centralized histology service with cardiovascular disease-specific stains. Furthermore, Subcore A serves as an information hub for sharing mouse strains and tissues. The Cardiovascular Phenotyping Subcore is led by Dr. Shenu Bhuiyan. This Subcore provides a centrally located, state-of-the-art, highly specialized laboratory capable of non-invasive monitoring of cardiac and vascular function, and telemetry in normal and disease rodent models. Although priority will be given to project leaders, Core services are available to all faculty at our institute.
Specific aims of the Animal Models Core are to:
- To develop a core facility that complements the Redox Molecular Signaling Core by allowing project PIs to test the importance of redox modifications in relevant in vivo models of cardiovascular disease
- To provide the investigators with a new genotyping service that will help streamline and improve the generation of animal models for their studies
- To provide centralized histological serves to ensure high quality morphometric analysis of tissue in various pathological models.
- To offer the technical capabilities and expertise necessary for investigators to design and perform studies using cutting edge technologies in vascular and cardiovascular phenotypic measurements, such as telemetry, ultrasound and laser speckle imaging.
- To facilitate access to expertise for troubleshooting genotyping, histological and phenotyping difficulties.
- To ensure the trainees of junior faculty are exposed to the latest methodologies in cardiovascular research, animal models, and cardiovascular histology and phenotyping.
Histology and Genotyping Subcore A:
The genotyping component of this subcore is located in animal resources (9th floor of the medical school building), and will genotype more than 2000 mice for the 3 COBRE projects, as well as mice for other investigators. This subcore also includes a centralized histology service with access to several cardiovascular-relevant histological stains. It will be incorporated into the current Morphometry Core Facility associated with the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, located on the 8th floor of the Medical School Building in Room 8-303 and occupying approximately 1,200 sq. ft. of laboratory space.
Cardiovascular Phenotyping Subcore B:
This subcore is in a dedicated suite (825 sq. ft.) of 4 rooms located on the 4th floor of the medical school building. The current modalities (telemetry, laser speckle imaging and ultra high frequency ultrasound) are housed in separate rooms of the suite. Ongoing renovation will allow for the inclusion of analysis workstations and a desk for the subcore research associate in close proximity to the technologies. The telemetry room also contains two cage racks to house animals being monitored by telemetry. Our animal facility is AAALAC accredited and is staffed by two veterinarians with formal training in Laboratory Animal Medicine. Animal resources will supply biosafety cage change stations, cages, autoclaves, and cage washer facilities as well as husbandry staff and veterinarian support. The freight elevator outside the suite of the phenotyping subcore provides easy access for animal transport and movement of husbandry supplies from Animal Resources Facility to the subcore and back to housing rooms/cage wash facility on the 9th floor.
CORE PERSONNEL

Karen Stokes, PhD
Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Assistant Director of Scientific Excellence for the CCDS
CORE LEADER
HISTOLOGY & GENOTYPING SUB-CORE LEADER
CARDIOVASCULAR PHENOTYPING SUB-CORE LEADER
SERVICES AND FEES
Workflow for Genotyping Services Animal Models and Histology Core Fee Schedule Instrumentation
PROTOCOLS AND SOPs
Information on Protocols and SOPs relevant to the Animal Models and Histology Core is coming soon. Sample Preparation Instructions Cellular and Molecular Services
SERVICE REQUESTS
Genotyping Services Work Order Animal Models Phenotyping Subcore Work Order SAMPLE Animal Models Phenotyping Subcore Work Order