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Expertise. Innovation. Collaboration.

Carolina-Duke Core Partnership: Using UNC Cores

Get Started

Contact the core director you would like to work with from the list below to discuss your project and complete any intake consultations or forms. The core will provide a contract for services that will need to be signed by Duke’s contracting office and returned. If there are no amendments, the core can accept the project request and begin working on the project as soon as the contract is returned.
The core director will instruct you on how to set up an account with the core’s invoicing system. Most of our cores utilize iLab. The core director will provide instructions for submitting an order into the queue or reserving equipment. 
A reserved parking space or permit are available for Duke affiliates who need to drop off samples or come on-site to use core facilities for longer than the 15-30 minute parking limitations at building loading docks. Please coordinate parking with the core director who will be able to reserve parking on your behalf.
Payment information will be provided on each invoice. Payment can be made via credit card, check, or ACH transfer as specified in the invoice. Cores do have the right to withhold data or restrict future usage until payment of existing invoices is received. All UNC Chapel Hill core facilities utilized should be appropriately acknowledged in any publications they support, including any funding sources. Core directors that contribute materially to research design, data collection and analysis, and/or writing should be considered for authorship pursuant to Authorship Guidelines provided by the Association for Biomolecular Resource Facilities.

Participating UNC Chapel Hill Cores

The following cores will offer the “breakeven” cost recovery rate to Duke labs. This may be limited to certain equipment or rates, specified int he “Included Technology” section below.

Core Name and Website Core Director Name Core Contact E-mail Description Included Technology:
Animal Models Core Dr. Dale Cowley dcowley@med.unc.edu A full suite of genome engineering services for the generation of genetically modified mouse and cell line models for biomedical research including CRISPR/Cas9, ES Cell Gene Targeting, transgenic mouse services, and more. All
Website Core Director Name Core Contact E-mail Description Included Technology:
Biomolecular NMR Laboratory Dr. Stu Parnham stitch@ad.unc.edu Bruker Avance III HD 500, 600, 700, and 850 MHz spectrometers as well as training, consultation, and concierge data collection by the core director as well as access to Fragment-based Drug Discovery, using the cores ‘In-House’ 19F and 1H fragment libraries, and metabolomics. All
Core Name and Website Core Director Name Core Contact E-mail Description Included Technology:
Bioinformatics and Analytics Research Collaborative Dr. Austin Hepperla hepperla@unc.edu Our team will meet with you before, during and after your project to assist with experimental design, data processing, data analysis and interpretation, figure generation, and manuscript and/or grant preparation. We specialize in high-throughput sequencing and gene expression data, image analysis data, and other biological data. All
Core Name and Website Core Director Name Core Contact E-mail Description Included Technology:
High-Throughput Sequencing Facility Dr. Sam Pattenden pattenden@unc.edu HTSF provides access to a full suite of genomic technologies. Oxford Nanopore can produce ultra-long read sequencing reads, limited by DNA length/quality. In our hands we regularly generate reads >100kb.  There are a host of applications, including: Rapid sequence identification, utilizing long reads for improved genome assembly, analysis of full length RNA transcripts from cDNA (PCR and PCR-free), direct sequencing of RNA molecules, metagenomic analysis, structural variant detection, and copy number detection in complex regions Oxford Nanopore Sequencing on the GridION platform
Core Name and Website Core Director Name Core Contact E-mail Description Included Technology:
Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Core Dr. Adriana Beltran The Human Pluripotent Cell Core services are designed to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery and application in the field of stem cell research by providing researchers with access to high-quality iPSCs, differentiated cells, and expert support. All
Core Name and Website Core Director Name Core Contact E-mail Description Included Technology:
Microbiome Core Dr. Andrea Azcarate-Peril azcarate@med.unc.edu The mission of the UNC Microbiome Core is to provide the research community with the facilities and expertise to characterize complex microbial communities and microbial interactions. The Core has state of the art instrumentation and extensively trained personnel that provide support from experimental design to data analysis All
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Core Name and Website Core Director Name Core Contact E-mail Description Included Technology:
Vector Core Genlin Hu ghu@email.unc.edu The UNC Vector Core offers an extensive inventory of premade AAV vectors available in multiple serotypes. Additionally, the core can provide custom vector production. All

Duke PIs who are currently customers of other core facilities will continue to receive the rates communicated by those core facilities. Requests to add cores to this list may be considered after the 2026 trial period as long as it does not create direct competition with existing core facilities at Duke University and with approval of both UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University leadership.