The Ragon Institute Flow Cytometry core provides access to a 2 laser BD FACSCalibur, a 3 laser BD LSR2, a 4 laser BD LSR2, and the first 5 laser BD LSR Fortessa in the Boston area, as well as a 3 laser, 12 color high speed cell sorter (BD FACSAria) that allows researchers to separate and collect populations of interest for further study. In addition, the sorter is housed in a biosafety cabinet to allow for sorting of infectious samples.

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Confocal microscopy utilizes a pinhole in a plane confocal to the sample which, when properly adjusted, can exclude scattered light from above and below the focal plane of the specimen. In this way, one is able to obtain very thin optical sections using the confocal microscope. This is also accomplished through the use of multiple wavelengths of laser light.

The Ragon Institute Imaging Core provides a variety of imaging services to the the wider Ragon research community.

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Humanized Mouse Model

The Ragon Institute Humanized Mouse Program was established in order to further develop an ideal animal model to study HIV pathogenesis and test vaccine efficacy and to make it available to the wider Ragon research community. Highly experienced personnel produce these animals and perform experiments in collaboration with Ragon investigators at very reasonable cost.

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As part of the Ragon Institute's overall goal to study the pathogenesis of HIV and develop effective vaccine approaches, the Virology Platform provides critical infrastructure to provide a centralized facility for preparation, titreing, and storage of HIV stocks for immunological and virological studies. We also offer viral sequencing services and the evaluation of viral replication capacity of HIV strains and constructs.

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The Ragon Tissue Platform has been established to provide the necessary infrastructure to conduct patient-based research investigating tissue specific immune responses against HIV. We seek to significantly reduce the major obstacle to initiating tissue based studies by providing access to human tissue specimens to assist in studies of HIV pathogenesis and tissue-specific immune responses against HIV.

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