Kar-Ming Fung, MD, Taipei Medical College 1988, PhD, University of Pennsylvania 1994 - US grants

The purpose of the Histology, Immunostaining, Microscopy Core is to provide to the Promising Junior Investigators (PJIs) and cancer funded investigators, tissue processing, embedding, sectioning, histochemical staining of mounted slides, developing immunohistochemical (IHC) (brighfield or fluorescent) staining for paraffin embedded and frozen tissues and immunocytochemical (ICC) (brighfield or fluorescent) staining for cultured cells, evaluation of new antibodies for IHC staining, biochemical and special staining. The core will provide technical support to all scientific investigators in the above said areas; with PJIs having first priority. The core will also provide training on and use of various microscopes including conventional bright field, phase and epifluorescence microscopy as well as new instruments for live cell imaging. This facility is critical for cancer investigators using animal models and tissue culture models to study basic mechanisms of cancer biology.

ABSTRACT The Histology, Immunochemistry, and Microscopy core (HIM Core) of the COBRE provides the COBRE investigators and other cancer researchers in Oklahoma with high quality histology, immunochemistry, and microscopy services. This core is directed by Dr. Fung, who is a board-certified pathologist who has more than 28-years of experience in research with histologic techniques. The HIM Core has a well-equipped laboratory that provides histologic sectioning, conventional staining, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization, combined immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, enzyme histochemistry, and other contemporary staining techniques. Most of these staining procedures are automated in order to maintain a high quality. This core also provides whole slide scanning service supported by image analysis with a choice of multiple algorithms and tissue microarray segmentation softwares. The director of the core also provides technical advice on experimental design and methodologies appropriate for the project. The core also provides training on the use of various microscopes including conventional bright-field, phase- and epifluorescence- microscopy as well as new instruments for live cell imaging. This is the only such facility available in the state of Oklahoma. Established in 2012, under the auspices of Phase I of this COBRE, the core has proven to be critical to meet the scientific needs of the COBRE investigators in addition to catering the needs of other cancer researchers in Oklahoma. During Phase I of this COBRE, 6 COBRE Promising-Junior or target investigators and 64 non-COBRE investigators used this core. The mission of the HIM Core is accomplished under the following three specific aims: 1. Consultation on experimental design and interpretation of results; 2. Histological methods and staining services; and 3. Whole slide scanning, image analysis, and live cell imaging services.

TISSUE PATHOLOGY SHARED RESOURCE ? ABSTRACT The Tissue Pathology Shared Resource (TP SR) is a Stephenson Cancer Center (SCC)-managed facility that provides SCC members and other investigators with high-quality histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) services, supported by whole slide scanning and image analysis. The TP SR also provides technical consultation on experimental design and interpretation of results. Established in 2012, the TP SR is directed by Kar-Ming Fung, MD, PhD, a board-certified pathologist with over 28 years of experience in diagnosis and tissue-based research. The services and expertise provided by the TP SR are critical to meet the scientific needs and objectives of the SCC. Members in all three of the SCC's research programs use this Shared Resource, with particularly heavy use by members of the Preclinical Translational Cancer Research (PTCR) and Gynecologic Cancers (GC) programs. Since inception, the TP SR has supported numerous NCI and other peer-reviewed funded research for members of these programs (see TP SR Research Strategy section for a full discussion). TP SR equipment and staff are housed in SCC-designated space in the OUHSC's Biomedical Research Center (BRC), providing the 27 BRC-based SCC members with immediate access to this important infrastructure. An additional five SCC members are located in the adjacent Biomedical Sciences Building (BMSB), which has a dedicated internal walkway to BRC. The main tissue processing and imaging activities occupy a total of 655 sf. of SCC-designated space on BRC Floor 4. In 2016, 21 (43%) of the total number of TP SR users (49) were SCC members with peer-reviewed support. The facility also served nine SCC members without peer-reviewed support. SCC members constituted 61% of the total users of the facility, highlighting the high utilization and impact that the facility has on advancing research at the SCC. As is illustrated in the Research Strategy section, SCC member fees for TP SR services are less than or similar to those of surrounding institutions.

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The proposed equipment is a motorized 12-slide automated whole slide scanner with bright-field and multi- spectrum fluorescent scanning capability. Its file format is compatible with multiple image analysis software. This scanner is critical for evaluation of immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and in situ hybridization. The proposed equipment is likely the only one of this kind in this state and will be opened to researchers from all major research institutes in Oklahoma including but not exclusive to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, University of Oklahoma- Norman Campus, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, and Oklahoma State University. Understanding the expression and interaction of different biological molecules and different subsets of cells, particularly subsets of lymphocytes in immune mediated diseases and immune therapy, is critical for the development of novel therapeutics. Protein molecules are primarily responsible for most of the cellular mechanisms and they are products of translation from messenger RNA (mRNA). In addition to mRNA with its function as messengers, small RNA including micro RNA (miRNA), piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA), repeat associated small interfering RNA (rasiRNA), circular RNA (cicRNA), and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) play important functions on regulation of cell function. While biochemical methods can detect all of these molecules, biochemical studies do not tell their cellular location. When cancer cells are admixed with normal cells, biochemical method cannot tell if the molecules of interest are in cancer cells or normal cells. The only way to identify their cellular location is to visualize under the microscope. DNA and RNA can be visualized on tissue sections by in situ hybridization and protein molecules can be detected by immunohistochemistry/ immunoflurosecence. More than often, visualization of a subset of related molecules or related cells on the same slide is the best way to understand the disease process. The proposed equipment can performed multi-spectrum fluorescent whole slide scanning and would allow visualization of multiple different signals on the same sample.