A multiplex automatic autostainer at Jefferson - Project Summary and Abstract The Translational Pathology Shared Resource (TPSR) laboratory at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) is dedicated to providing exceptional pathology faculty expertise, a comprehensive range of high- quality, state-of-the-art histopathology technical support and service as well as cutting edge molecular pathology and digital pathology services, and critical access to CAP-accredited biorepository facility for patient samples to SKCC Members across the consortium and other researchers. TPSR is one of the 8 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-supported Shared Resource Core Facilities at TJU. Because of its consistent service support to NIH-funded research programs as well as clinical trials at TJU/TJUH research centers, TPSR was always rated as Excellent to Outstanding during reviews ever since its establishment. The current autostainer, a refurbished intelliPATH FLX®, was manufactured by Biocare Medical LLC and installed in August 2020. It is remarkably slow (needs 6-9 hours/batch for single channel IHC) and lacks inline slides preparation (required for fully automatic operation) and heating elements (required for In Situ Hybridization (ISH) and Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase dUTP Nick End Labeling (TUNEL) assays). As a result, we lack the ability to carry out molecular pathology tasks such as Multiplexed Immunohistochemistry/Immunofluorescence (mIHC/IF), DNA/RNA ISH, TUNEL. Therefore, we request fund to acquire a new DISCOVERY ULTRA, manufactured by Roche Diagnostics Corporation to establish a state-of-the-art molecular pathology platform at TJU. Our preliminary instrument research and tests indicate that the DICSOVERY ULTRA is ideally suited to meet our needs mentioned above. DICSOVERY ULTRA is a fully open automatic IHC/ISH staining platform designed for research use only. It offers protocol flexibility for rapid assay development on each individual slide (30 slides capacity in total) with both manual and/or fully automated IHC/IF, mIHC/IF, ISH protocols simultaneously. The fully automated workflow enables processing of 90 slides in 8 hours, which will improve turnaround times significantly. We have identified a group of eight core users from inside TJU who eagerly support this proposal. If funded, TJU will cover the cost of ~$14,496/year for the service contract after the first year, the cost of consumables in addition to other associated costs. The personnel will be compensated through a combination of CCSG grant and the charge back. The proposed instrument will significantly expand the service list of this shared resource, increase efficiency and productivity, enhance the competitiveness of current NIH-funded research projects and expand the numbers of researchers using our NCI funded Shared Resource, which will ultimately improve the quality, breadth and depth of our biomedical research and strengthen the connections between basic, translational and clinical research.
