The Bioinformatics and Analytics Research Collaborative (BARC) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a multi-disciplinary center that aims to provide bioinformatics expertise and analysis to researchers across the university and beyond for high throughput data.

Led by Qi Zhang, PhD, and Robert McGinty, MD, PhD, UNC-Chapel Hill scientists used cryo-electron microscopy technology to produce the first-ever high-resolution structure of the protein cGAS bound to the DNA packaging unit inside human cell nuclei, revealing how cGAS responds to foreign or damaged DNA, but not the body’s healthy DNA.

Cognitive flexibility, which refers to the brain’s ability to switch between mental processes in response to external stimuli and different task demands, seems to begin developing during the first two years of life, which is much earlier than previously thought. UNC BRIC researchers led by Weili Lin, PhD, used magnetic resonance imaging techniques to show … Read more

The Journal of Biomolecular Techniques has published a paper by Dr. Christopher W. Gregory, Director, Office of Research Technologies (Building a Quality Management System in a Core Facility: A Genomics Core Case Study). 

120 applications were received in response to the first offering of the SOM Biomedical Research Core Voucher Program. 27 grants were awarded, engaging 19 different cores. FY20 Awarded Projects

The Core Facility Advocacy Committee (CFAC) in the Office of Research Technologies (ORT), UNC School of Medicine (SOM), announces a new program for research projects that directly utilize UNC SOM biomedical research cores.  Core vouchers worth up to $10,000 will be awarded to investigators with qualified projects to be used exclusively for core services.  Up … Read more

The Animal Models Core (AMC) offers a full range of CRISPR/Cas9 services for genome editing in mice, rats and cell lines. The core was an early adopter of the CRISPR system in 2013 and have now completed over 150 CRISPR projects. Using the CRISPR System for Genome Editing in Mice and Rats: The CRISPR system … Read more

Catch up on core facility news and highlights in the newsletter summer 2019 edition

With support from a $200,000 instrumentation grant from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBC) in 2016, the Microscopy Services Lab (MSL) acquired a light sheet microscope, the only one of  this model in the state.  “This microscope is unique in its capabilities and it’s transformative in what research it can support,” said Pablo Ariel, Ph.D., … Read more

The Microscopy Services Laboratory’s mission is to help scientists with their research, when it involves light microscopy, electron microscopy and image analysis. We provide training and assistance in all three areas, as well as extensive sample preparation services for transmission and scanning electron microscopy. In consultation with researchers we can advise which instruments will most … Read more