Facilities & Other Resources
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) School of Dentistry has a diverse portfolio of research activities in the basic, applied and clinical sciences, as well as in the areas of health services, health policy and health education. The overarching emphasis is on the promotion of oral health and function. Discoveries in these areas not only offer the potential to improve oral health but also overall health.
The Koury Oral Health Sciences Building, a 216,000 gross square foot (sf) facility, opened for occupancy in 2012 and consists of ~50,902sf of combined research space (excluding vivarium, see below). The total wet lab space is ~29,978sf and 69% is configured as open lab. The balance of research space include: faculty, postdoc, and research staff offices; and seminar, conference, and team rooms. Seminar and conference rooms are shared with educational activities. The Koury Oral Health Sciences Building also houses the Office of Research (Dental Research Administration) the administrative units for the Center for Center for Pain Research and Innovation, and the Center for Oral & Systemic Diseases.
Laboratory:
Miguez Laboratory:
The PI’s laboratory space in Koury Oral Health Sciences is on the 4th floor, room 4611, and houses a western blot system including two gel electrophoresis chamber powered by a PowerPac Basic (Bio-Rad) and Trans-Blot Turbo Transfer System (Bio-Rad), micro tube mixer (TOMY MT-360), 4-tier rocking mixer (IBI Scientific), 2 inverted microscopes (Olympus CK2) and (Life Technologies EVOS XL core with color camera), two microcentrifuges (Eppendorf 5415 C) and (Fisher Scientific Sprout), benchtop refrigerated centrifuge (Eppendorf 5804 R), two sets of 4 pipettes (Sartorius mLINE) and one 8-channel pipette (Thermo Scientific Finnpipette F2), vortex mixer (Fisher Scientific), NanoDrop OneC Spectrophotometer (Thermo Scientific NanoDrop OneC, 3-sectional heat block (Fisher Scientific Isotemp), balance (Sartorius Practum), two heated stir plates (Fisher Scientific), pH meter (Fisher Scientific Accumet AE150), 2 pipette aids (BrandTech Accu-Jet Pro), pc and monitor (Lenovo ThinkCentre), document scanner (Canon MP160), inkjet printer (Konica Minolta Magicolor 5430DL), incubator (Precision Scientific Inc. Economy Incubator), chemical fume hood (Hamilton Concept Laboratory Solutions), staining dishes and racks for histology (Electron Microscopy Sciences), oral surgery supplies including Astra Tech Implant System, 2 cryotank liquid nitrogen biological storage tanks (BioCane 47 and BioCane 70), water bath reciprocal incubator (Precision Scientific Reciprocal Shaking Bath Model 25), 2 temperature and gas controlled humidified cell culture incubators (Thermo Scientific Napco Series 8000 DH), class II type A/B3 biological safety cabinet (Nuaire Biological Safety Cabinets Model NO.NU-425-400, 3 refrigerator freezer combinations (Roper), -20ºC upright freezer (Whirlpool EV200N), and a -80ºC upright freezer (Revco 2-5). The PI also shares a Real-time PCR applicance (Applied Biosystems) with other researchers in the School of Dentistry equipped with a Dell computer and appropriate software. Additional equipment is also available in the Koury building and the PI’s group has access to them on a regular basis including a nitrogen-operated tissue grinder (SPEX), confocal microscope (EVOS) for fluorescence-based imaging and microtome for de- and undecalcified hard tissue samples, cutting and polishing system (Buehler, IsoMet 1000 precision diamond saw) and (Bueler, Ecomet 3 variable speed grinder-polisher), embedding, cutting, and grinding system for histological analysis of calcified tissue samples consisting of a light polymerization unit (Exakt 520), adhesive press (Exakt 402 Precision Adhesive Press), cutting system (Exakt 310 Diamond Band Saw), and grinding unit (Exakt 400 Surface Grinder).
Animal: The vivarium in the Koury Oral Health Sciences Building (part of the UNC-CH School of Dentistry complex) is approximately 8,014 gross sqft and consists of 4 animal holding rooms (~1820sqft total), 5 procedures rooms (these include two rooms dedicated to behavioral studies, one surgical procedures room with downdraft tables, and two rooms equipped with fume hoods or a biosafety cabinet), and support space (cage washing; autoclave; clean equipment storage; bedding and food storage; waste management area; and facilities for support staff). The facility is fully accredited by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC- International). The animal care and use program is centrally managed by the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DLAM). Veterinary care is provided by several full-time veterinarians in DLAM, including a board-certified Veterinary Pathologist and several board-certified Laboratory Animal Medicine veterinarians. In addition, there are veterinary technicians in Veterinary Services who provide surgical and clinical support.
Clinical: N/A
Computers: The PI has various PCs in the lab offices and the lab work areas. All are connected to the Dental School’s server and UNC-CH network.
Office: There are three offices (100sq. ft.) next to the laboratory and three desk spaces in the laboratory. Dental Research administrative offices are located on the 5th floor. The PI’s office is adjacent to the laboratory.
Scientific Environment: The environment at UNC-CH and the area in NC provide a wide variety of opportunities to seek out additional expertise if needed within the University or in collaboration with other schools (Duke University and NC State University). The environment is highly collaborative and the core facilities are state-of-the-art.
Other: The PI has access to more than 60 institutional core facilities at UNC that provide state-of-the-art technology in six broad areas: Animal Models, Biochemistry, Clinical/Translational, Bioinformatics, Genetics/Genomics, and Imaging. In addition, not proposed in this grant but available, there are DNA/Protein Sequencing, Peptide synthesis, EM/Histology, Proteomics, Microbiome and Vector Core Facilities on campus. The PI has complete access to numerous core facilities on the UNC-CH campus (http://www.med.unc.edu/www/research/core-facilities).