About the HTSKC
Utilizing the HTSKC, Stanford researchers can conduct systematic and comprehensive screens of biological systems involving chemical and/or genetic perturbations. Possible approaches include the use of: (1) chemical libraries for the identification of small molecule modulators of specific biological processes; (2) siRNA libraries for targeted gene silencing; and (3) cDNA libraries for in vivo or in vitro pooled protein expression. The HTSKC predecesor, the High-Throughput Bioscience Center (HTBC) was founded by Professor James Chen with initial funding from the Department of Chemical and Systems Biology (formerly Molecular Pharmacology), but the HTSKC now has funding and administrative support from the Sarafan Chem-H and Innovative Medicine Accelerator (IMA). The HTSKC is available to the entire Stanford research community and other institutions. Research conducted in the HTSKC will broadly advance our molecular and cellular understanding of human health and disease by promoting the use of genome-wide approaches in the biomedical sciences and the advancement of chemical biology research. The HTSKC is also a shared resource (Bioscience Screening Facility) in the Stanford Cancer Institute. The HTSKC has also been supported by projects from the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award, Spectrum, and SPARK, and many discoveries from the HTSKC have lead to many startups and licensed discoveries some of which are listed here.
Organization
Operation
Screening proposals are submitted to the HTSKC Steering Committee consisting of Chaitan Khosla (Professor, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Director Innovative Medicine Accelerator), James Chen (lab) (Professor and Chair, Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Professor of Developmental Biology, by courtesy, Chemistry, Co-Director, High-Throughput Screening Knowledge Center), David Solow-Cordero (Associate Director, High-Throughput Screening Knowledge Center), Carolyn Bertozzi (Director, Stanford Chem-H) and Bruce Koch (Co-Director, High-Throughput Screening Knowledge Center). Projects are then prioritized according to scientific criteria and their time requirements, and IMA funded projects are given precedence. This committee is also responsible for the facility's budget and provide operational guidelines. Bruce Koch directs the facility's operations and leads protein-based assay development and external screening projects. David Solow-Cordero manages the facility's day-to-day screening operations and assists its users with cell-based assay development and data management. SCI projects are also given priority and access to the facilities resources.
Instrument Time Allocation
Once a project is approved and deemed appropriate for the facility's resources, the researchers involved with this project will acquire instrumentation time through the HTSKC Directors. In general, instrumentation time will be allocated on a first come-first serve basis, and a sign-up policy will be employed. The HTSKC Directors, however, will have some discretion in the scheduling of projects that require extensive instrumentation time (i.e. more than 6 hours of continuous use). Requests for intrumentation usage can be processed very quickly with the requirements of registering on iLabs and short training session (External Users register here). Users who want to perform small molecule or siRNA screens must also fill out an HTSKC Screeners Agreement Form after an initial consultation meeting with the HTSKC Directors or receive funding from IMA RFAs. Priority for screening projects will be given to IMA funded projects followed by SCI related projects.
User Fees. Operational costs for the HTSKC are charged to users on a “rate” basis. Rates are formulated to recover recurrent costs such as salaries, benefits, equipment maintenance, depreciation, and the facility's materials and supplies.