HMS Core Facilities
HMS-Supported Research Cores and Shared Resources
Research Core Facilities provide access to highly specialized services, equipment, and staff that would otherwise be too expensive for an individual laboratory to support.
Below is an expandable list of the HMS-supported research core facilities and other shared resources, along with relevant contact information. While most cores are publicly available, some are required by their sponsors to limit access and to differentiate pricing. Policies regarding services, access, fees and prioritization vary by core and by institution. Please contact each core facility or resource directly for more information. For information about research core facilities at other Harvard Schools and HMS affiliate institutions, please visit the Harvard-LMA research core facilities website.
HMS Core Directors and staff can request access to the internal HMS Cores SharePoint by emailing Caroline Shamu or Shannon Zonay
List of HMS-Supported Cores and Shared Resources
The Analytical Chemistry Core at HMS provides consultation, training and access to Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) instrumentation for the identification and quantitation of small molecules. The core also offers services including method development, data acquisition and analysis across a wide variety of applications.
Core Director - michael_james@hms.harvard.edu
Core Website - https://analyticalchem.hms.harvard.edu/
The Arthropod Cell Screening Facility (ACSF) develops, optimizes, implements, and distributes technologies useful for genome-wide cell screening in cultured cells from arthropods, including from the classical genetic model system Drosophila and non-model species such as mosquitos and ticks. Through our own work and support of other projects, we aim to have impact on health-relevant areas including mosquito- and tick-borne disease and food security. Our central technology is CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screening platforms. We have developed screening platforms for several species, each comprised of sets of engineered cell lines, plasmids, and sgRNA libraries. We provide access to these and other technologies through collaboration and technology dissemination. We also developed and maintain a suite of online tools for reagent design and data analysis, mining, and integration, with a particular focus on support for Drosophila, insect, and tick research applications. In addition, the ACSF provides access to legacy cell RNAi reagents originally created by the Drosophila RNAi Screening Center (DRSC).
Core Director - Stephanie Mohr
Core Website - https://acsf.hms.harvard.edu/
The Big Data Analytics Core services include predictive analytics with biomedical data including cohort studies and EHR data, text mining and automated knowledge extraction, real-world evidence, as well as design and analysis of modern clinical trials.
Core Director - Tianxi Cai
Core Website - https://celehs.hms.harvard.edu/research/#big-data-analytics
BioGrids provides innovative computational resources, scientific software, and educational programs. We curate a library of 500+ biosciences applications to support researchers across disciplines with collections for high-throughput sequencing, proteomics, genomics, visualization, and related tools, and provide access to these tools through a preconfigured software environment.
Core Director - Jason Key
Operations Director - Michelle Ottaviano
Core Website - https://www.biogrids.org/
The HMS Bio-molecular NMR Facility provides access to small and large molecule solution state NMR spectroscopy in support of chemical and structural biology. The facility, unique in the Boston area, houses state-of-the-art 400, 500, 600, and 700MHz systems capable of conducting cutting edge multi-nuclear experiments in support of medicinal chemistry, fragment-based drug discovery, mechanistic studies of ligand binding to macromolecules, metabolomics, protein structure and dynamics, and research on NMR methodology related to translational research. A hybrid model of operation is employed where training is provided to enable investigators to run their own experiments, but staff assistance is available for project-based work that requires highly specialized skills. The facility serves both HMS investigators and those from each of the affiliates.
Core Director - Greg Heffron
Core Website - https://eqnmr.med.harvard.edu/
The BPF NGS Genomics Core Facility provides state of the art resources and services including NextGen Sequencing on the Illumina platform, NGS Sample Preparation (for a variety of DNA and RNA applications), Single Cell Analysis on the 10X Genomics Chromium platform, DNA and RNA Quality Assessment, Sanger DNA Sequencing, DNA/RNA isolation and purification, Oligonucleotide Ordering, qPCR Assays, and Reagents & Supplies Ordering (via a staffed stock room in the NRB and an automated 24/7 stock room on the HMS Quad).
Core Director - Robert Steen
Core Website - https://genome.med.harvard.edu/
For additional information on the Biopolymer Facility, visit their page on the Catalyst Directory
The BCMP Center for Macromolecular Interactions (CMI) is a resource for the characterization of macromolecules and their interactions. The CMI provides training, scientific consultation, and access to shared biophysical equipment, including: Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC), Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), Biolayer Interferometry (BLI), MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST), Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF), Circular Dichroism (CD), and Light Scattering methods: size-exclusion chromatography with multi-angle light scattering (SEC-MALS), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), and Mass Photometry (MP).
The CMI offers limited data collection services. These services include nanobody selections using yeast surface display nanobody libraries developed in the lab of Andrew Kruse, preparative chromatography for protein purification, and characterization of protein secondary structure, mass and oligomeric state, polydispersity, aggregation state, hydrodynamic radius, and thermal stability.
Core Director - Kelly Arnett
Core Website - http://cmi.hms.harvard.edu/
This core provides access to advanced light microscopes for the Harvard Medical School research community, including a lattice light sheet microscope.
Core Director - Jennifer Waters
Core Manager - Talley Lambert
Core Website - http://cbmf.hms.harvard.edu/
HMS imaging cores website: https://microscopy.hms.harvard.edu
The goal of the HMS Connectomics Core is to help researchers acquire, align, segment, proofread, and annotate large-scale maps of cell-cell interactions using volumetric electron microscopy (EM), genetically encoded cell-type-specific EM tags, trans-synaptic viral tracing, machine learning algorithms, and advanced statistical methods. Currently, we assist groups with analysis of existing large-scale electron microscopy datasets. This involves deployment of infrastructure, computer workstations, and software resources for connectomic data analysis.
Core Directors - Rachel Wilson and Wei-Chung Allen Lee
Core Website - https://connectomics.hms.harvard.edu/
The EM facility at Harvard Medical School is a fee-for-service core facility for transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The aim of the facility is to make the electron microscopes and relevant techniques such as sample preparation, sectioning and immunogold labeling easily accessible to all researchers.
Core Director - Maria Ericsson
Core Website - http://electron-microscopy.hms.harvard.edu/
CITE (formerly the NIC) is a core light microscopy facility offering a wide range of light microscopes, including laser scanning confocal, spinning disk confocal, TIRF, super-resolution, FRAP/photoactivation, light sheet microscopy and more. All researchers are trained to use the equipment; no prior imaging experience is necessary. CITE also offers an extensive educational program, including hands-on workshops for theoretical and practical training on light microscopy techniques.
Core Director - Jennifer Waters
Core Website - https://cite.hms.harvard.edu/
HMS imaging cores website: https://microscopy.hms.harvard.edu
Harvard’s new Core for Mentorship Excellence builds upon two decades of research conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s “Center for the Improvement in the Mentored Experience in Research” (CIMER). CIMER is the widely acknowledged thought leader in the didactics of mentorship training. CIMER’s “Entering Mentoring” curriculum has identified 6 key mentorship “competencies”: 1) aligning expectations, 2) effective communication, 3) assessing understanding, 4) addressing equity and inclusion, 5) fostering independence, 6) promoting professional development. To illustrate these competencies, Entering Mentoring uses case-based discussions to allow mentors to experience and experiment with various mentorship strategies. The curriculum also provides mentors with practical mentorship tools to implement in their own research environments, such as mentorship agreements. Harvard faculty, trained by CIMER, will be offering this day-long training to the Harvard community once per month, starting Fall 2024.
Core Director: Samantha Reed
Core Website: https://cfme.hms.harvard.edu/
The Harvard Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center for Structural Biology is a joint effort by Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital to provide state-of-the-art cryo-EM instrumentation and expertise for the Harvard structural biology community. This user facility offers consultation and training by staff in specimen preparation, microscope operation, image acquisition, and data analysis. The facility houses two Mark IV Vitrobots for sample preparation and two Titan Krios electron microscopes with BioQuantum energy filters and a Talos Arctica electron microscope, all equipped with Gatan K3 direct electron detectors and Volta phase plates.
Contact email:cryoem@crystal.harvard.edu
Website: https://cryoem.hms.harvard.edu/
The Harvard Cancer Consortium (HCC) Mouse Engineering Core (MEC) has all of the equipment necessary for generation of transgenic mice including a Nikon Diaphot microscope equipped with Nomarski Optics and Narishige micromanipulators for microinjections, Nikon surgical microscopes for egg isolation ad transfer, a sutter needle puller and a de Fonbbrune microforge. The facility maintains mice necessary for egg donors, egg recipients, and vasectomized males. This is a non-profit facility and charges are based upon anticipated mouse costs, maintenance of mice and equipment, purchase of necessary surgical supplies and chemicals, and personnel costs.
ES cell culture services have been offered for more than 15 years. Our staff carries out electroporation of targeting vectors into ES cells and provides investigators with DNA to identify ES cells carrying the desired recombination events. Staff then expand the appropriate ES cells for microinjection into blastocysts by the HCC MEC.
In recent years, the core has expanded its list of services to include CRISPR injections and cryopreservation.
Core Director- Lina Du
Core Administrator - Lauri Wyner
Core Website - Mouse Engineering Core
Contact - mouseengineeringcore@gmail.com
The Rodent Histopathology Core was established in 1999 and is a Harvard Cancer Consortium facility based at HMS. Services that the Core provides include technical, professional, and educational services on non-human, primarily rodent tissues. The Core offers necropsy, tissue processing, slide preparation from paraffin-embedded and frozen tissues, routine and specialized histological staining. The Core’s Veterinary Pathologist is available for expert interpretation of slides and one-on-one consultation.
The ultimate goal of the Core is to support investigator research that leads to the identification of pathologic processes in non-human models that can be directly translatable to human disease.
Core Faculty Director - Peter Howley
Core Manager - Li Zhang
Core Administrator - Lauri Wyner
Core Website - http://www.dfhcc.harvard.edu/research/core-facilities/rodent-histopathology/
Drug Discovery Sciences Core within the HMS Therapeutics Translator provides intellectual input, including chemistry advising and project management, as well as a variety of biochemical and cell-based assays in support of the therapeutics research initiatives of tenant companies within the Blavatnik Life Lab Longwood and the HMS community.
Core Contacts: Jennifer Smith (Cellular & biochemical assays and structural biology expertise)
Mark Namchuk (Chemistry advising and project management expertise)
Core Website: https://therapeutics.hms.harvard.edu/translational-research/drug-
The Gnotobiotic Core Facility (GCF) is a fee-for-service core established in 2022 in a newly renovated cutting-edge space located on the Longwood campus. We provide the flexibility to allow investigators to train on gnotobiotic techniques, or our highly trained staff can perform studies for our users. We offer our services to members of the HMS community as well as to external users.
Core Director - Sungwhan Oh
Core Website - https://immunology.hms.harvard.edu/resources/gnotobiotic-core/gnotobiotic-core
In an effort to provide bioinformatics analysis services and training to the HMS Community, the HMS Tools and Technology Program has provided additional support and resources to the HSPH Bioinformatics Core (HBC). HBC provides expertise in areas such as array analysis, next-gen sequencing (NGS) and functional analysis. Their NGS support includes epigenetics, transcriptomics and re-sequencing studies. HBC works together with research computing groups on all aspects of data management.
Core Director - Shannan Ho-Sui
Core Website - http://bioinformatics.hms.harvard.edu/
The Harvard iPS Cell Core Facility provides investigators with customized iPS derivation and genome editing based on the latest cutting-edge stem cell technologies. The core offers three non-integrating technologies (Sendai virus, mRNA, and episomal vector) for reprogramming of a variety of somatic cell types. We propose different modules for the characterization of these lines. We can expand hESC or hiPS lines to create high quality Master Cell Banks. We also offer the generation of genome engineered hESC or hiPS lines. We use the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate knock-out or knock-in lines for repair or introduction of mutations. We can generate gene reporter lines and integrate gene of interest in safe harbor site. Additionally, the iPS Core serves as a repository for Harvard hESC lines and both control and disease-specific hiPS cell lines.
Core Director - Laurence Daheron
Core Website - https://ipscore.hsci.harvard.edu/home
Location: HSCI iPS Core Facility
Harvard University
Bauer Building Room B01
7 Divinity Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
The HMS Center for Immune Imaging provides the infrastructure and expertise for intravital imaging of cells and microbes in diverse tissues in living mice at single cell resolution. The center is divided into two facilities: the main Intravital Imaging Facility located in the Veritas Science Center, and the BL2+ Intravital Imaging Facility housed in the Seeley G. Mudd Building for imaging of infected mice.
Core Director: Uli von Andrian
Core Email: HCII@hms.harvard.edu
Core Website: https://immunology.hms.harvard.edu/resources/hms-immune-imaging
The ICCB-Longwood Screening Facility assists investigators in conducting high-throughput screens of chemical and functional genomics libraries to identify new tools for biological research. The ICCB-Longwood compound collection is continuously growing. Over 500,000 compounds are currently available for screening, including > ~15,000 'known bioactive' compounds, many of which have been characterized in animal models or in the clinic. Multiple human and mouse whole-genome siRNA libraries, as well as miRNA mimic and inhibitor libraries, are available for RNAi screening. Arrayed, synthetic single-guide RNA libraries targeting the human draggable genome are available for CRISPR knock out screening. Laboratory automation equipment is also available for use by the community for non-screening projects. The facility employs a staff-assisted screening model.
Core Director - Jennifer Smith
Core Assistant Director - Patricia Szajner
Core Website - http://iccb.med.harvard.edu/
Image Analysis Collaboratory (IAC) specializes in the quantitative analysis of biomedical images—be that image restoration, object detection, segmentation, co-localization analysis, tracking, classification, or related matters. We apply and develop methods in classical bioimage analysis, deep learning, and spatial statistics—in-house or with the help of our friends and collaborators.
Core Website - https://iac.hms.harvard.edu/
Core Director - Simon F. Nørrelykke
The Immunology Department’s Flow Cytometry core facility provides cutting edge instruments and expert advice for flow cytometry to all researchers across HMS and beyond. With three sorters, four analyzers, and availability at late hours, we can offer our services for a wide variety of cytometry applications. Capabilities include a Cytek Aurora spectral analyzer (up to 40 parameters), or high speed 6 way cell sorting on the 6-laser MoFlo Astrios.
Core Directors - Chad Araneo
Core Website - https://immunology.hms.harvard.edu/resources/flow-cytometry
Note that the HMS Microfluidics Core Facility closed in June 2025.
The HMS Microfluidics Core Facility aims to provide space and the equipment to design, fabricate and conduct experiments with micro-fluidic devices to the research community of Harvard University and affiliated institutions. Additionally, provide training, fabrication, technical and scientific assistance to users in order to ensure success in their projects.
Former Core Director - Calixto Saenz
Admin Contact - Samantha Jalbert
Core Website - https://hms.harvard.edu/departments/microfluidicsmicrofabrication
MicRoN functions a "Catalyst core," partnering with researchers to accelerate research. Our PhD-level staff collaborate closely with students, postdocs, and faculty, providing scientific and technical expertise, project development support, and innovative strategies. We emphasize education, experimental design, and advancing image-based science.
MicRoN houses 15 cutting-edge microscopy systems covering widefield, slide scanning, polarized microscopy, TIRF, FRAP, optogenetics, confocal (single point, spinning disk), multiphoton (with perfusion and micromanipulation), multi-immersion lightsheet (SPIM and MultiView; live and optically cleared samples), super-resolution (STED, Airyscan, 2D/3D/TIRF-SIM and DNA-paint), FLIM, FRET, FLIM-FRET, multiplexing, and live-cell imaging. Our 1Pb server and 10gb/sec connection in our microscope rooms supports high-power computational analysis with open and commercial software. Additionally, we provide equipment and support for tissue clearing (SmartBatch+).
Core Director - Paula Montero-Llopis
Core Website - https://micron.hms.harvard.edu/
HMS imaging cores website: https://microscopy.hms.harvard.edu
The Molecular Electron Microscopy Suite (MEMS) at Harvard Medical School is a user resource currently available to all researchers in the HMS community. This core facility offers training and supervision in negative-stain and cryo-transmission electron microscopy. Equipment includes three transmission electron microscopes, two cryo plungers, and negative stain and cryo sample preparation areas. The Tecnai F20 is equipped with a Gatan K2 Summit direct electron detector.
Contact email: cryoem@crystal.harvard.edu
Website: https://cryoem.hms.harvard.edu/
Harvard Medical School (HMS), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) have established a state-of-the-art Mouse Behavior Core (MBC) available to all members of the research community. The MBC is outfitted with multiple rooms of equipment for behavioral testing in mice, with animals housed in an adjacent vivarium. The MBC provides automated video tracking and analysis of a variety of behavioral measures. Additional assays and services may be available per request. The surgical/tissue collection suite is outfitted with two stereotaxic setups and a perfusion hood.
Core Director - Barbara Caldarone
Core Website - https://behavior.hms.harvard.edu/
The mission of the Nascent Transcriptomics Core (NTC) is to offer the community a resource for the analysis of nascent transcription, providing new insights into gene regulation and enabling highly-sensitive identification of regulatory regions such as enhancers.
We offer consultation on experimental design as well as library construction services for Start-seq, PRO-seq, and TT-seq. In addition, the NTC looks forward to expanding these offerings as we develop and optimize new nascent RNA sequencing methods in partnership with the HMS community.
Core Contact - Seth Goldman
Core Website - https://ntc.hms.harvard.edu/
The facility offers a wide-range of optical imaging equipment, technical and analytical support as well as full service imaging, tissue clearing and In Situ. The imaging equipment includes whole slide scanning, live cell imaging, confocal, lightsheet and super-resolution (STORM & STED) as well as basic brightfield and widefield microscopes. The facility also offers array tomography, a newly developed imaging technique that offers multiplex, ultra-high resolution volumetric imaging with depth-independent immunofluorescent staining.
Core Director - Michelle Ocana
Core Website - https://nif.hms.harvard.edu/
Services Website - https://ppms.us/hms-neuroimaging/
Array Tomorgraphy Website - https://nif.hms.harvard.edu/services/array-tomography-core
HMS imaging cores website: https://microscopy.hms.harvard.edu
The Research Computing (RC) Core is a set of billable services provided by Research Computing and HMS IT. The goal of the RC Core is to promote deeper collaboration across the greater Harvard biomedical research ecosystem. This includes improved capabilities and performance by establishing more transparent and sustainable IT services for our research community.
Research Computing will be providing the following billable services via the RC Core:
- High Performance Computing:
- The O2 Cluster, which accommodates diverse requirements and workflows for HMS-affiliated researchers.
- Storage Options:
- Active – intended for storing research data that is frequently accessed, modified, or computed against which includes Compute and Collaborations storage solutions.
- Standby - is leveraged for infrequently accessed data that is still directly available for reference, retrieval, or analysis.
Core Director - Ravi Kotecha
Core Website - https://it.hms.harvard.edu/rc/core
Email - rccore@hms.harvard.edu
Preparing images for inclusion in scientific communication has long been a time-consuming, confusing and often frustrating endeavor. Research Imaging Solutions works to identify ways to streamline image preparation so researchers can maximize their time at the bench, writing grants and developing discoveries.
Research Imaging Solutions services are available to all Harvard, HMS, HSDM, HSPH and affiliated hospital employees. Expertise can be accessed in a way that acknowledges each kind of learning style: one-on-one consulting; workshop and seminars and online easy-to-follow guides and recipes. The accessibility and convenience of this Quad-centered service is supplemented by substantial web-based assistance at it.med.harvard.edu/ris, making Research Imaging Solutions a 24/7 resource.
Training
RIS skills training is based on the unique ways that researchers use proprietary scientific applications, Microsoft Office and a variety graphics programs to create, acquire and edit images that are included in grant applications, journal articles and presentations to the scientific community. Half-day workshops are free and address the specific imaging and presentation needs of researchers. Lunchtime Seminars are presented at no charge and cover topics including poster making, proper PowerPoint techniques and Photoshop tricks. Customized small group and one-on-one training is also available by contacting Research Imaging Solutions.
Core Director - Beth Beighlie
Core Website - https://it.hms.harvard.edu/our-services/research-computing/services/research-imaging-solutions/ris-seminar-
The Research Instrumentation Core Facility enables the development of new scientific instruments in order to further research at Harvard Medical School and affiliated institutions. The facility provides consultations on the design of hardware or software, purchasing decisions, and assistance with implementation. The staff will work with researchers to develop and fabricate customized electronic, optical, and mechanical devices, as well as software interfaces for these devices. Furthermore, the facility provides tools and workshop space for authorized researchers to design and prototype their own instruments. The facility is staffed by a full-time Neurobiology device engineer and a staff engineer.
Core Director - Ofer Mazor
Core Website - http://instrumentation.hms.harvard.edu/
SBGrid Consortium provides innovative computational resources, scientific software, and educational programs to researchers in the global structural biology community. We curate a library of 500+ scientific applications to support all phases of macromolecular structure determination with software collections for electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, NMR, computational chemistry, and structure prediction, and provide access to these tools through a preconfigured software environment.
SBGrid Advanced Research Computing (ARC) provides research computing support to structural biology laboratories in the Boston area, assisting with the design and maintenance of research computing infrastructure, including workstation and server hardware purchase recommendations.
Core Director - Jason Key
Operations Director - Michelle Ottaviano
ARC Website - https://sbgrid.org/corewiki/Home
Consortium Website - https://www.sbgrid.org/
This Core supports single cell sequencing and provides resources for sequencing the transcriptomes individual cells and provides scientific advising for optimal experimental design. The Core is partnering with the Harvard Chan Bioinformatics Core to offer support from experimental design through to data analysis.
Core Director - Mandovi Chatterjee
Core Website - https://singlecellcore.hms.harvard.edu/
The Taplin Biological Mass Spectrometry facility provides mass spectrometry services to members of the HMS community as well as external users.
Core Director - Ross Tomaino
Core Website - http://taplin.med.harvard.edu/
The LSP Tissue Profiling Service (TPS) provides a suite of complementary, cutting-edge spatial biology assays that provide researchers with information about the physical arrangement of cells as well as expression of proteins and RNA transcripts within these cells in healthy and diseased tissues. These assays include multiplexed cyclic immunofluorescent imaging (CyCIF) - a method originally developing within the LSP - as well as Orion™ whole-slide scanning, which allows for combined quantitative immunofluorescent and traditional H&E imaging, and GeoMx™ Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP), which probes for over 18,000 mRNA transcripts in each region of interest within a tissue section.
Contact: Roxanne Pelletier, Core Project Manager and Data Scientist
Core Website: https://labsyspharm.org/tps/about/
Questions?
Caroline Shamu Ph.D - Associate Dean for HMS Research Cores and Technology
