Description

A major mission of MIM_C is to interface with clinicians, researchers, and junior investigators to understand how the microbiome may be used as a therapeutic to treat diseases. To pursue this mission, MIM_C implements a variety of programs: core services that enable free or subsidized access to key technologies, access to a cross-disciplinary collaborative team, consultation and connection of expertise between research groups, a trainee grant program, and multiple symposia and events throughout the year. Symposia at mim_c provide a venue for scientists, faculty, and trainees at various stages to share their work and learn, and these draw from research groups at a wide variety of institutions and departments throughout the Pacific Northwest Region working in the microbiome space.

Core services at MIM_C include:

1. automated nucleic acid extraction from a variety of specimen types,
2. high-throughput sequencing for microbiome studies,
3. bioinformatics analysis,
4. gnotobiotic mice facilities,
5. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for bacterial identification,
6. BSL-2 laboratory facilities and bench space,
7. a large-capacity anaerobic chamber for oxygen-sensitive bacterial culture, and
8. high throughput multiplex immunoassay instrumentation.

Services are offered to the research community through a variety of modes including free access, direct collaboration, and fee-for-service depending on project needs.

Key Words

Microbiome, Microbiology, Sequencing, Anaerobic, Luminex, DNA, RNA, Protein, Tissue Culture, Molecular Biology, Model Systems, Gastroenterology, Microbial Interactions, MALDI-TOF, Gnotobiotic, Biochemistry