Core Services
The Core Services in the Center for Musculoskeletal Research (CMSR) are a result of the strategic restructuring of resources in order to improve efficiency, accelerate the pace of research, and facilitate the translational studies of our NIH funded research programs. Over the past several years the CMSR Cores have undergone dramatic expansion and have been reorganized into two primary Cores: the Histology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Imaging (HBMI) Core, and the Biomechanics, Biomaterials, and Multimodal Tissue Imaging (BBMTI) Core. Each of the Cores maintains integral service programs.
The HBMI Core is composed of three service programs including: 1) the Histology, Immunohistochemistry (IHC), and In Situ Hybridization (ISH) Program; 2) the Microscopy, Histomorphometry, and Imaging Program; and 3) the Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology Program. Leadership for the HBMI Core is provided by Dr. Brendan Boyce and Dr. Alayna Loiselle.
The BBMTI Core is composed of four service programs including: 1) the Biomechanics Program; 2) the biomaterials synthesis and fabrication program; 3) the microCT Imaging Program 4)Multispectral Molecular Imaging Program; and 5) the Dynamic Ultrasound Imaging Program. Leadership for the BBMTI Core is provided by Dr. Hani Awad and Dr. Danielle Benoit.
The MEB Core Services include: State-of-the-art equipment for continuous (24/7) voluntary wheel running, treadmill exercise/fatigue, grip strength, and whole body plethysmography in awake, non-restrained mice. Leadership for the MEB Core is provided by Dr. Robert Dirksen and Dr. John Lueck.
Integration of these services into the HBMI, BBMTI and MEB Cores continue to promote improved understanding of the interplay between biochemical and molecular signals and the cellular responses to tissue repair, exercise and regeneration, and enables advances in the translation of basic principles to clinical practice. The Cores also develop new techniques that continue to transform our ability to understand disease and developmental processes of bone, cartilage, and muscle in animals and humans.