Histology Core Laboratory
The Histology Core Laboratory is located in the Department of Cell Biology in the Biomedical Sciences Building (BMSB 527). The core is supported by a Diabetes COBRE grant, the OUHSC Office of Research Administration, and the Cell Biology Department.
The purpose of the Histology Core is to provide Diabetes COBRE users and Cell Biology faculty, staff, and students access to tissue processing, embedding, sectioning, and histochemical and immunohistochemical staining of mounted slides, for both paraffin embedded and cryo-preserved tissue preparations. Investigators may directly use the equipment and/or request tissue-processing services performed by the core histology technician. The fee structure for histology services and equipment usage is provided on the PDF below.
External users, such as private consultants and investigators from OMRF are welcome and encouraged to use our histology services. The fees are somewhat higher than for internal users, but are very competitive with other area core facilities, and we have a very fast turnaround time. Submission of a small number of specimens for paraffin embedding, sectioning, and H&E staining, are routinely ready for pick up the next day. Larger submissions naturally require more time, but are usually ready for pickup within 2-3 days. We will be happy to send you our external user submission form with the fee schedule upon request. We are also able to accommodate for specialized procedures or stains.
The core facility has a trained histology technician who will work with researchers to accomplish their specific goals. The Histology Technician II is Cindy Bulmer; she is certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) and is qualified in immunohistochemistry (QIHC) by the ASCP. She coordinates the use of the histology core by researchers, and performs the various histology services provided by the core. She also trains and oversees the faculty or staff who wish to use the core histology equipment. All researchers wishing to use the core equipment, unless already familiar with the procedures, should first undergo some training by the histology technician.
The Director of the Histology Core laboratory is Dr. Xi-Qin Ding, PhD. Dr. Ding is a Professor of Cell Biology, and her research laboratory is in BRC 456.
The major equipment in the histology core are:
- Thermo Scientific CryoStar NX70 Cryostat
- Thermo Scientific HistoStar Embedding Workstation
- Leica CM 3000 Cryostat
- Sakura Tissue Tek VIP 5 Tissue processor
- Microm HM 330 Microtome (paraffin)
- Leica EG1160 Embedding Center
- Nikon Eclipse FL inverted photomicroscope
- Olympus VS120 Virtual Slide System
Shared Outlook calendars are available online in which users can schedule time to use the cryostats, photomicroscope, and slide scanner in the core. Please contact Cindy Bulmer (cynthia-bulmer@ouhsc.edu) to request calendar access on your Exchange account. All use of the histology core and services provided is maintained in an Access Database. Please direct any inquires about lab access or histology services to either Ms. Bulmer or Dr. Xi-Qin Ding: