The Oncology Precision Therapeutics and Imaging Core (OPTIC) at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center is a a core facility for a multitude of helpful resources for the Columbia Research community.  For patient-derived cancer models and pre-clinical services to support the precision cancer medicine initiative at Columbia University, we offer our services for labs in and out of Columbia University.  Our goal is to improve the significance and predictability of translational research by facilitating the discovery and pre-clinical validation of personalized cancer treatments.  

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• Personalized Models Generation:

  • Advanced surgical approaches for orthotopic implantation

  • Interface with Genomics and other SRs to characterize novel models

• Translational Therapeutics:

  • Sophisticated tissue acquisition including biopsy surgeries

Consultation, Training, and Education: Expert staff advise on experimental design,
train users on each instrument, and educate users on the theory and practical
aspects of each technology.

• Patient Derived Xenografts:

  • Generate and cryopreserve patient-derived tumor organoid and primary xenograft models from patients at Mew York Presbyterian Hospital

  • Characterize personalized models with clinical/epidemiological annotation and genomic/transcriptomic analyses, as well as growth kinetics, histopathology and basic treatment response metrics

• In-Vivo Bioimaging:

  • Provide state-of-the-art imaging and analysis with superior convenience, cost-effectiveness, and turnaround time for users at any level of experience.

  • Maintain, operate, and support advanced in-vivo imaging using bioluminescence/fluorescence, ultrasound, micro-CT, and high-field magnetic resonance.

  • Provide expert support and education on experimental design and technical support for data acquisition and image analysis.

  • Signoff for unassisted access granted to users who complete a rigorous training and evaluation program.

 

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