Emory Integrated Core Facilities Celebrates New Record of Labs Supported and Hosts First Ever Core Directors Retreat

Partipants gathered during the Emory Core Directors research day — Above: Participants gathered at the first ever Core Directors Retreat. Photo: Kemi Griffin

The countless hours of trial and error make finding life-changing breakthroughs a challenge for researchers. That’s why the Emory Integrated Core Facilities (EICF) provide researchers with the necessary tools—like equipment, expertise, and facilities—that fuel discovery.

The EICF advance multidisciplinary research excellence by connecting researchers with the state-of-the-art tools and expertise they need to accelerate the pace of research. EICF includes 19 specialty core units that provide Emory investigators with unpresented access to facilities that include Georgia’s first 7T MRI, as well as A/BSL3 labs, genomic analysis, immunoassays, and more.

This year, EICF have once again set a record by supporting 450 unique laboratories.

“Emory's commitment to research excellence is exceptional—and our integrated core facilities serve as one major driving force. Supporting 450 unique laboratories at Emory and beyond underscores the importance of our mission to find meaningful breakthroughs." - Adam Marcus, PhD, associate VP for research and associate dean of research cores and novel technologies

Having dedicated resources at Emory helps drive science forward. Just ask Devesh Pant, an instructor in the Department of Cell Biology who relies on the EICF. “We are very pleased with the state-of-the-art professional transgenic services provided by Emory Mouse Transgenic and Gene Targeting Core.”

Over the next year, EICF leadership plans to continue their investment in people, services, and technologies to support our mission of enabling collaborative discovery across the basic, translational, and clinical sciences.

Behind the scenes at the first-ever Core Directors Retreat

EICF leadership hosted a Core Directors Retreat on November 6, 2023 to help affirm this commitment. The event was an opportunity to foster communication across the different EICF cores. 47 individuals from Core Leadership gathered to review EICF strategic pillars and the vision for research goals, as well as review feedback from core users.

EICF Leadership gathered for the inaugural Core Day retreat. During this working retreat, participants shared best practices and brainstormed ideas to bolster the strategic pillars and vision for EICF. — Above: EICF leadership gathered for the inaugural Core Directors retreat. During this working retreat, participants shared best practices and brainstormed ideas to bolster the strategic pillars and vision for EICF. Photo: Kemi Griffin

Leaders at the retreat shared innovations and engaged in important dialogues. This included Cassandra Leah Quave, PhD, assistant dean of research cores and associate professor. Quave declared, “It’s really exciting to see the incredible impact that the EICF has had on the research mission of the university.”

The retreat culminated with the inaugural EICF Annual Awards Ceremony, where key members of the EICF were recognized for their exceptional service and outstanding performance.

The 2023 EICF Core Directors Retreat winners pose for a photograph with EICF Leadership after the ceremony. — Above: The 2023 EICF Core Directors Retreat winners pose for a photograph with EICF leadership after the ceremony. Photo: Kemi Griffin

The recipients of the 2023 awards included:

Eric Ortlund (Emory Integrated Metabolomics & Lipidomics Core): Scientific Director of the Year
Karolina Nitsche (Mouse Transgenic & Gene Targeting Core): Core Director of the Year
Pritha Bagchi (Emory Integrated Proteomics Core): Core Staff of the Year

Additionally, the following individuals were recognized with certificates of achievement:

Lei Zhou (Center for Systems Imaging Core)
Henry Claussen (Emory Integrated Computational Core)
Yao Huang (Emory Integrated Genomics Core)
Xueyun Liu (Emory Integrated Metabolomics & Lipidomics Core)
Stoyan Ivanov (Integrated Cellular Imaging Core)
Esther Park (Investigational Drug Service)
Srihari Ravi Koripella (Robert P. Akarian Integrated Electron Microscopy Core)
Steven Roache (Mouse Transgenic & Gene Targeting Core)
Rong Fu (HPLC Bioanalytical Core)
Jianjun Chang (Emory Multiplexed Immunoassay Core)
Kametha Fife (Emory Flow Cytometry Core)

Each of these individuals exemplifies hard work and are dedicated representatives of their Core. Join us in congratulating them on their accomplishments.

EICF collaboration leads to better bench-to-bedside outcomes

2023 was a very exciting year for EICF. Other highlights include the opening of the HSRB-II, hosting the Southeastern Association of Shared Resources (SEASR) 2023, and more.

Both leadership and staff are integral to the flourishing success of EICF. We want to acknowledge the efforts of every individual who was involved in supporting the core’s mission.

Above: Cassandra Quave and Kristal Maner-Smith, PhD, bestow the Core Staff of the Year award to Pritha Bagchi, PhD. Photo: Kemi Griffin

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to a remarkable 2023 for EICF. The more research we can support, the more we can do to discover breakthroughs that provide hope for those in need while solving the world’s most complex health challenges.

Quave emphasizes the importance of EICF’s record-breaking year saying, “By reaching this mark of 450 different labs is a testament to the quality of service and scientific rigor that our core leaders and staff offer to the broader Emory research community.”

Looking ahead to next year’s Core Directors Retreat, Quave adds, “This was our first Core Directors Retreat and Awards Ceremony. Both were a smashing success, and it was a great opportunity to share ideas across EICF cores. These types of interactions are going to lead to better outcomes in support of our research mission.”