Biomarkers, Cell Culture, and Analysis

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cancer cells shed by solid tumors into the bloodstream. CTCs have recently emerged as valuable prognostic and predictive cancer biomarkers, providing a non-invasive window into disease biology and progression that can be sampled repeatedly over time from a simple blood draw. Moreover, CTC sampling enables real time tracking of cancer plasticity as tumor cells evolve over time and through progressive lines of therapy, thus elucidating mechanisms of cancer dissemination and identifying new therapeutic targets. As such, CTC characterization holds the promise of enabling real-time molecular phenotyping of individual cancer patients’ tumors at diagnosis and throughout treatment, advancing precision medicine in this important and vast patient group. The USC Norris CTC Research Core is a state-of-the-art, multi-platform facility for the capture and analysis of peripheral blood CTCs. The Core employs a variety of technologies that enrich CTCs for enumeration or molecular characterization. Enrichment is done from blood samples drawn by standard venous puncture from patients. In addition, Dr. Goldkorn’s team has developed mouse xenograft research models using labeled CTCs that can be recovered from the mice.

Health Sciences Campus
USC Norris Cancer Center
1450 Biggy Street., NRT6516
Los Angeles, CA 90033
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The Chang Stem Cell Engineering Facility genetically modifies embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines. Genetically modified ES and iPS cell lines derived from disease-specific animal models and patients provide an opportunity to investigate the mechanisms of disease and to further develop new treatments for clinical therapy. 

Services include: genome editing, iPS cell derivation, and ES cell derivation.

Health Sciences Campus
Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center
1425 San Pablo Street, BCC 205
Los Angeles, CA 90033
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The Bioreagent and Cell Culture Core supports cancer related research that requires in vitro experiments, provides reagents for cell culture and prepares bioreagents that are produced by cells grown in the Core. It is one of the longest standing and most widely used shared resources of the Cancer Center.

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
1441 Eastlake Ave
NOR5323
Los Angeles CA 90033
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