Core Facilities & Shared Resources

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has a number of cores to support research and networks to facilitate access to School-based platforms.

  • Beiwe Research Platform – This digital phenotyping platform collects both active and passive smartphone data and uses them to generate social, behavioral, and cognitive markers.
  • Bioinformatics Core – Core staff aid researchers with the management, integration, and contextual analysis of biological high-throughput data, focusing on transcriptomics (bulk, single cell, small RNA-seq), epigenetics (ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, methylation) and variant calling (WGS, WES, targeted DNA). Available for grant support and experimental design guidance.
  • Environmental Chemistry and Engineering Laboratory – This core works in air pollution sampling technology development, validation, and field research support. We collaborate with colleagues from around the world on study design and the development of specialized field sampling methodologies. We are a source for unique custom-made sampling systems that are widely used, but not commercially available. In particular, we have invented, developed, and validated apparatus used for toxicological and biological sampling. For more information, please contact: mwolfson@hsph.harvard.edu.
  • Genotyping Core Facility – This core specializes in qPCR telomere assays, qPCR mitochondria assays, TaqMan/OpenArray genotyping, and targeted next-gen sequencing on the IonTorrent S5 platform. This core can also handle small and large scale DNA/RNA extractions and whole genome amplification. The Core specializes in DNA/RNA extractions from all cell types, FFPE and all tissue on automated Qiagen Qiacube equipment and prepping for all platforms on the Qiagen Qiagility robot. We also receive specimens for large scale blood collections, process the blood, and build biorepositories.
  • Harvard Chan Advanced Multi-omics Platform (ChAMP) – This mass spectrometry platform has the capacity to measure proteins, lipids, and other small molecules. ChAMP is a collaboration platform and includes training and education of mass spectrometry methodology and analysis.
  • Harvard Chan Freezer Core – This core hosts a large-capacity automated negative 80°C freezer and a high-throughput automated liquid handler. These resources for Harvard Chan School investigators require specialized labware.
  • Harvard Chan Microbiome Collection Core – The Harvard Chan Microbiome Collection Core (HCMCC) supports microbiome studies with reliable, scalable in-home fecal and oral specimen collections at ambient temperature. The HCMCC provides customizable fee-for-service implementations and handling of sample collection kits. Generated sample aliquots are compatible with amplicon, shotgun metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing, and stool metabolomic profiling. For service inquiry, please complete this form: https://hcmph.sph.harvard.edu/hcmcc/contact-us/.
  • IID Department A/BSL 2 – This is a rodent facility at biosafety level 2. Animal housing and some equipment are available for users but no scientific services are provided. Harvard Center for Comparative Medicine (HCCM) provides animal husbandry services.  For more information, please contact: nsiddiqi@hsph.harvard.edu.
  • IID Department A/BSL 3 – This biosafety level 3 service center provides scientific services (including designing and conducting experiments for investigators), equipment, training, and occupational health services. A rodent model of TB is available as well.  For more information, please contact: nsiddiqi@hsph.harvard.edu.
  • Microbiome Analysis Core – The Harvard Chan School Microbiome Analysis Core (HMAC) provides analyses of microbial amplicon (16S rDNA and ITS), metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, and metaproteomic sequence data. The HMAC offers support at all stages of research, from study design through proposal drafting to data analysis and interpretation. Core activities include consultation, provision of services, and fully collaborative grant-funded investigations.
  • NIEHS Members Integrative Health Sciences Facility (IHSF) Core – The biological analysis, environmental genomics, metals, organic chemicals, and particles research services are available to National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) members only. Please click on the “About Us” link to learn about membership criteria.
  • Nutritional Biomarker Lab – Provides reliable lab analysis services to researchers within the Harvard community and beyond, specializing in the analysis of antioxidants, vitamins, and fatty acids profile in foods and human samples, as well as the adoption and development of custom assays as requested by our clients. Additional services include analysis of blood lipids and lipoproteins, including novel HDL subspecies that are newly emerging as important risk factors in many diseases.
  • Quantitative Biomedical Research Center – QBRC provides large scale biomedical data mining, management, pattern recognition, and software engineering support to the Harvard research community.
  • Research Computing – a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Harvard Chan School and Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) gives primarily appointed faculty, researchers, staff, and students to access the FAS RC computer cluster (Cannon) and basic storage, along with software licenses.
  • Shared Instrumentation Network – The Harvard Key-protected website helps School community members in need of instrumentation typically used in the biological/lab sciences to connect with other investigators at the School who may be able to share their existing equipment.

Additional Core and Related Resources in the Longwood Medical Area and Harvard University: