The HESCCF offers orientation to familiarize researchers with the equipment in the facility, training classes in hESC culture. These classes are held as one-week and two-week workshops throughout the year.
Individual
Individual Training in stem cell culture techniques can be one-one-one. Training is provided on a case-by-case basis with no minimum or maximum number of hours. Training can range from basic stem cell culture techniques to advanced methods such as EB formation and manual dissection.
The cost of Individual Training is $50 per hour.
Contact Eric O'Connor, (858) 822-3244, to make an appointment.
Workshops
The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Core Facility (hESCCF) offers workshops to learn stem cell culture and use pluripotent cells in various experiments.
Workshops are offered on an as-needed basis and usually consist of 6-10 researchers and are offered as needed. Please contact the hESCCF to express your interest in any of the following workshops.
Prerequisite for ALL Workshops: Researchers must have excellent sterile technique, previous cell culture experience, and initial stem cell ethics training.
Current Workshops:
Basic Stem Cell Culturing (2 weeks--2 hrs per day, includes weekends):
- Basic culturing techniques including thawing, freezing, and maintaining pluripotency of stem cells
- Splitting/expanding of stem cells using manual and enzymatic techniques
- Immunofluorescent staining of stem cells to determine pluripotency
Differentiation (3 weeks--3-4 hrs per week):
- EB Formation using 2 different methods: Spontaneous and "Spin" formation
- Immunofluorescent staining for the 3 germ layers, ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm
Feeder-free & Electroporation (2 weeks--2 hrs per day, includes weekends):
- Culture stem cells on Matrigel using 2 different types of media: MEF Conditioned Media (MCM) and StemPro
- Electroporate a neo-resistant GFP construct into stem cells using the Amaxa
- Isolate GFP positive colonies
