Overview of Services

Mission

The mission of the Research Histology Core Laboratory is to support the research of M D Anderson Cancer Center by consistently providing high quality histological and molecular techniques, consultation, and technical support to evolving research of all researchers inside and outside of the institution to eliminate cancer.

History

Peer-funded research projects that require histologic analysis have been provided with tissue processing and slide preparation by a shared resource facility at MDACC since 1981. The RHF began as a routine histology laboratory that offered researchers the same services as the patient-care histology laboratory in the clinical Department of Pathology. Due to the ever transforming nature of research with needs for new techniques and methodologies, the RHF has evolved into two sophisticated laboratories, one on the North Campus and the other on the South Campus, in parallel with the growth of two MDACC campuses in Houston. The Facility supplies technical support and consultation, develops and applies appropriate tissue-based technologies, and maintains the consistency and high quality necessary to perform these techniques for studies of specimens from patients and animal models. In addition to standard histologic techniques, the spectrum of services provided by the RHF has been continually broadened to meet the requirements of MDACC investigators, especially in translational research. This expansion of services has included an increase in the use of special stains; serially cut slides; preparations for immunochemical, histochemical, and in situ hybridization techniques; frozen sections; assistance with scalpel-based microdissection to enrich specimens for tumor cells for laboratory analysis; tissue transfers; cell line processing; and tissue microarray sectioning with tissue conservation. Of note, during the previous funding period, the RHF has added research immunohistochemistry (Fall, 2005), purchased the instrument to initiate laser capture microdissection services (Fall, 2007) and implemented both manual and automated tissue microarray services (Summer, 2011).

Funding

RHF is funded through Award Number 2P30CA016672-38 from the NIH National Cancer Institute.

Disclaimer

The Research Histology Core Laboratory (RHCL) is not a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA)-certified laboratory. RHCL therefore does not provide chromogenic in-situ hybridization (CISH), fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH), immunohistochemical staining, tissue microarray preparation or any other service for the purpose of reporting patient-specific results for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of any disease or impairment of, or the assessment of the health of individual patients (42 CFR Ch. IV, 493.3.b.2.). All services are for research use only.

Leadership

Dr. I. Wistuba, Core Director

Location and Hours of Operation

Links and Resources

1. http://histology.mdanderson.org (in-house website)
2. Research Histology Core Lab Price List
3. Guidelines to Submit Samples to RHCL (All new users must review this document before submitting requests to the core.)
4. Processing Turnaround Schedule

Contacts