-About the Core-

The BPF NGS Genomics Core Facility, formerly known as "The Biopolymers Facility," is a non-profit specialized service facility within the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. The primary client base of the BPF consists of investigators at Harvard Medical School and affiliated research hospitals. While the majority of our users are located within the Longwood Medical Area, we also serve laboratories at schools, universities, and biotechnology companies globally.

Our mission is to provide investigators with access to technology services that will accelerate their research programs while simultaneously conserving time and resources by outsourcing laboratory experiments. Additionally, we offer a comprehensive range of popular reagents and supplies for immediate pickup from our Core Stock Room or Self-Service Supply Center. The core also provides cost-effective synthetic oligonucleotides and related products that are shipped directly to your laboratory through our IDT Portal. These resources facilitate the rapid development of research ideas into experiments while simultaneously reducing research expenditures through bulk pricing agreements and minimal, or no, shipping charges. We prioritize delivering high-quality data and expediting sample turnaround times.

Our comprehensive services encompass DNA and RNA Quality Assessment, Automation Services, Sanger DNA Sequencing, Next-Generation Library Preparation and Next-Generation Sequencing, Oligonucleotide Ordering, Reagent and Supplies Ordering, and training and access to a range of self-service instruments. We employ a comprehensive web-based Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) to streamline ordering processes, monitor experiment progress, facilitate supply retrieval, grant data access, and facilitate invoice review and retrieval.

As a non-profit academic laboratory, we prioritize providing direct communication with our users regarding the processing of their samples. Our competitive pricing structure ensures that grant funds are allocated judiciously, aligning with the cost of experiments.

We offer complimentary consultations to facilitate discussions on collaboration opportunities, provide letters of support for funding proposals, and address inquiries about experimental design and the appropriate technologies and services to meet research requirements. Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@genome.med.harvard.edu for any inquiries.

Facility is small molecule and functional genomics high-throughput screening laboratory. It is built around modular work stations and most assays are performed in 384-well plates. There are over 500,000 small molecules available for screening at ICCB-Longwood and compound collection is continuously growing. Whole human and mouse genome siRNA libraries, arrayed sgRNA libraries, lncRNA siRNA libraries, as well as miRNA mimic and inhibitor libraries, are also available for screening. These libraries can be screened at the genome level or in focused subsets.

The HMS Electron Microscopy Facility makes high quality electron microscopy services, instrumentation and training easily accessible to all researchers. Our services include consultation and experimental design for a wide variety of biological samples for both SEM and TEM.

Open access light microscopy and tissue core located within Neurobiology Department.
Provides services in optical imaging, tissue clearing, in situ hybridization as well as introduces new equipment and cutting technology to the basic science community. Provides expertise, equipment, services and learning opportunities to researchers in the greater Boston area.

Core specializes in single cell and spatial transcriptomics, and multiomics. Provides custom services, education, training and expertise in multiple high-throughput single cell technologies.

Core specializes in analysis of nascent transcriptome using PRO-seq and TT-seq NGS methods. Provides services allowing users to submit prepared cells and receive analyzed data. Offers free consultations to help with experimental design, answer questions, and discuss data analysis.

The Mouse Behavior Core (MBC) offers a wide range of mouse behavioral equipment and assays to test a motor, cognitive, and affective behaviors. Trained users have access to eight behavioral testing rooms and a procedure room. The MBC staff offers consultation, training, and guidance in execution and interpretation of assays.

The Harvard Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center for Structural Biology is a joint effort by Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital to provide state-of-the-art cryo-EM instrumentation and expertise for the Harvard structural biology community. This user facility offers consultation and training by staff in specimen preparation, microscope operation, image acquisition, and data analysis.

The Center for Macromolecular Interactions (CMI) in the department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School provides scientific consultation, training and access to shared biophysical equipment for the characterization and analysis of macromolecules and their complexes.

The facility offers training and access to instruments to measure molecular interactions by Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC), Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), Biolayer Interferometry (BLI), MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST).

The facility also offers select data collection services, training and access on instruments to assess protein quality and biophysical properties by Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF), Circular Dichroism (CD), Analytical Size Exclusion Chromatography with Multi-Angle Light Scattering (SEC-MALS), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Mass Photometry (MP).

Using libraries developed in the lab of Andrew Kruse, the CMI is also offering yeast surface display nanobody selections services.

confocal/multiphoton microscopy/electron microscopy/image analysis

State-of-the-art resource for NMR that offers services in fragment-based screening and drug discovery, characterization and QC of biologics and biosimilar drugs, metabolomics, protein NMR, small molecule NMR, and NMR of natural products. The facility offers 400-700MHz systems, many with cryogenic probes. The staff is highly experienced and dedicated.

The Mouse Engineering Core was established in 1992 operating at the BWH, and is now located at Harvard Medical School. The Mouse Engineering Core provides services for the generation of transgenic and knockout mice using state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.

The Core has all of the equipment necessary for generation of transgenic mice including a Nikon Diaphot microscope equipped with Nomarski Optics and Narishige micromanipulators for microinjections, Nikon surgical microscopes for egg isolation and transfer, a sutter needle puller and a de Fonbrune microforge. The facility maintains mice necessary for egg donors, egg recipients, and vasectomized males.

ES cell culture services have been offered for 15 years. The core offers electroporation of targeting vectors into ES cells and provides investigators with DNA to identify ES cells carrying the desired recombination events; and ES cell expansion for microinjection into blastocysts.

The core\'s newest services include CRISPR injections, sperm and embryo cryopreservation, and reanimation with fresh or frozen sperm via IVF or the thawing and implanting embryos.

The Research Computing Core is a set of research computing services provided by the Department of Information Technology at Harvard Medical School. The facilities include a high performance computing environment, O2, computational storage, and other services that support biomedical research such as research software licensing. Our services are only available to Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, and HMS Affiliates https://hms.harvard.edu/about-hms/hms-affiliates.

The Microscopy Resources On the North Quad (MicRoN) facility is a light microscopy core established by the Departments of Genetics, Immunology and Microbiology, and it is open to all HMS researchers, including Affiliated hospitals. MicRoN is a non-traditional decentralized or "floating" microscopy core. We support a wide range of imaging modalities ranging from widefield, TIRF, spinning disk and single point scanning confocal, multiphoton, FLIM and supper-resolution. The 14 microscopes that currently make up the core are embedded within the Departments of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, housed in five microscope rooms on five floors of NRB and HIM. We find that this model generates a greater interaction among trainees from the three departments and encourages a more collaborative environment. We are proud of working with the Departments of Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology and would love hearing from you!