RBL Frequently Asked Questions

What are our main areas of focus?

• To test and evaluate small molecules, vaccines, and diagnostics to protect the general population from infectious diseases and bioterrorism.
• To develop small animal models for testing.

How do I get started?

Simply fill out our service inquiry form.  You may also contact the RBL Director, Colleen Jonsson, Associate Director, Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, or Program Manager, Dong Yang, for further information.

Who can use the RBL?

Investigators in academia, not-for-profit organizations, industry, and government studying biodefense and emerging infectious diseases may request the use of biocontainment laboratories.

What type of research services does the UTHSC RBL provide?

Antiviral Discovery & Development 

• High Throughput Screening 
• Titer Reductions 
• Time of Addition 
• Evaluation of Small Molecules for
• Safety and Efficacy in Small Animals 
• Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics (LC-MS available in BSL-3 containment suite) 

Vaccine & Biologics Discovery 

• Neutralizing Antibody Titers 
• Immunoglobulin Quantitation and Subtyping 
• B and T Cell Responses 
• Immunophenotyping 
• Evaluation in Small Animals 

Pathogenesis Discovery 

• Biomarkers 
• Sequencing 
• High Throughput Biology 
• Evaluation in Small Animal Models 
• Virus Isolation 
• Identification of pathogens in animal, human, and environmental samples 

Immunology & Biomarker Discovery 

• Hematology 
• Clinical Chemistry 
• Multiplex Assays 
• ELISpot 
• Spectral Cytometer 
• Cell Sorter 
• Evaluation in Small Animal Models 

Can the UTHSC RBL accommodate GLP or GMP studies?

Yes, we are GLP capable and operational in one ABSL-2 or ABSL-3 suite.

What animal capabilities, including species and containment level(s), are provided?

• Containment available at ABSL2 and ABSL3

• Mice
• Rats
• Cotton rat
• Guinea pigs
• Hamsters
• Ferrets
• Other small animals- on request

What animal models, including species, disease, and delivery methods, are available?

• Influenza BSL-2 strains, HPAIV (intranasal) 
• Old World hantaviruses 
• Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 1 (SARS CoV-1) 
• Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) 
• Middle-East respiratory syndrome Coronavirus (MERS CoV) 
• Respiratory Syncytial virus (intranasal) 
• Venezuelan equine encephalitis viruses (subcutaneous and intranasal) 
• Western equine encephalitis viruses (subcutaneous and intranasal) 
• Eastern equine encephalitis viruses (subcutaneous and intranasal) 
• Leptospira interrogans; Intraperitoneal, conjunctival, transdermal 
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis (intranasal) 
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcal aureus 
• Staphylococcus aureus (laboratory and clinical strains) 
• Streptococcus pneumoniae (laboratory and clinical strains) 
• Co-infection model with influenza and Streptococcus pneumoniae or Staphylococcus aureus 
• Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula 
• Other- available on request 

What are our imaging capabilities?

• Xenogen IVIS spectrum
• CT
• ECHO

What major equipment is available?

• Respons®910VET Chemistry Analyzer (RBL-ABSL-3) 
• X•pedite™ HEM³ VET   Hematology Analyzer (RBL-ABSL-3) 
• Agilent Bioanalyzer (RBL-BSL-3) 
• QuantStudio 6 real-time PCR (96- and 384-well blocks) (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Biotek FX (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Eppendorf PCR (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Synergy (RBL-BSL-2; RBL-BSL-3; RBL ABSL-3) 
• Biotek Plate Washer (RBL-BSL-2) 
• EnVision (RBL-BSL-3; RBL-BSL-2) 
• Luminex® 200 (RBL-BSL-2) 
• Magpix® System with Milliplex® Analyst software (RBL-BSL-3) 
• QBIT (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Mindray ultrasound system with an Ultrasonic Transducer (RBL-ABSL-3) 
• Vevo 3100 Ultrasound (RBL ABSL-3) 
• Illumina MiSeq (RBL-BSL-2- in select agent space) 
• IVIS (RBL-ABSL-3) 
• Janus robot (MSB617-BSL-2) 
• Molecubes CT (RBL ABSL-3) 
• Cytek Aurora Spectral Cytometer (RBL-BSL-2- in select agent space) 
• C.T.L. EliSpot Analyzer (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Miltenyi Biotec BLAZE (RBL-BSL-2- in select agent space) 
• 10 X Genomics Chromium X (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Olympus APEX (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Emulate, Inc. - Zoe & Orb (RBL-BSL-3 – currently at BSL-2 as conditions set up) 
• Miltenyi Biotech - MACSQuant Tyto (RBL-BSL-3) 
• AB Sciex, LLc - QTRAP 5500+ mass spectrometer (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Yokogawa CQ1 system (RBL-BSL-2- in select agent space) 
• KingFisher (RBL-BSL-3) 
• EVOS fluorescent microscope (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Refrigerated Centrifuges with biocontainment rotors in most rooms (RBL-BSL-3) 
• -80C Freezers (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Beadmills (RBL-BSL-3) 
• Phase microscopes (RBL-BSL-3) 
• CO2 incubators (RBL-BSL-3) 
• SCIEX QTRAP 5500+ LC-MS/MS system (RBL-BSL-3)

What other shared resources are available?

• Proteomic MS facility
• Solid deep sequencing systems
• Affymetrix-based global transcriptomic facility
• Confocal microscopy
• Transmission and scanning EM facility
• BXD mice platform
• Gnotobiotic mouse facility