Full-service research histology laboratory providing broad histology services to the research community
The Histology Core is located at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Ottawa.
We facilitate research by providing histology services to over 90 researchers from the University of Ottawa and its partners (OHRI, UOHI, TOHCC, TOH and CHEO), and to a diversity of prominent external research sites (Carleton University, Health Canada, NRC, Public Health Agency of Canada and Canadian Nuclear Labs). All technical services are performed by skilled, well-trained technologists and allow researchers to promptly use quality material that otherwise would take years to perfect. Our high throughput (over 600 service requests that translates into an average of 36,000 slides per year) and the complexity of the projects we have participated in has granted us incomparable knowledge that allow us to customize requests to the ever-changing needs of the research community. The technical and intellectual services provided by the Core impact researchers profoundly by facilitating timely, elegant, indisputable results in efficient timeline to be able to stay competitive in their field.
In coordination with the Pathology Experimental Group, we also provide expert advice in experimental design and tissue analysis.
The Histology Core offers a varied portfolio of services that can be customized to the researchers needs. Those include: 1) processing and embedding of samples in paraffin; 2) sectioning of frozen and paraffin-embedded samples (including RNAse-free sectioning); 3) histochemical stains for general morphology or specific to carbohydrates, connective tissue, lipids, microorganisms, and intracellular granules; 4) immunohistochemistry, including optimization of new antibodies and staining using chromogenic and immunofluorescence (single or dual color); and 5) digital whole slide scanning.
- Education
- Healthcare and social services
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
Specialized labs and equipment
|
Equipment |
Function |
|---|---|
|
Tissue processors |
Tissue dehydration and infiltration into paraffin |
|
Embedding Centre |
Blocks tissues in molten paraffin and solidifies on cold plate |
|
Automated Microtomes |
Slices paraffin blocks to produce thin slices of tissue for staining |
|
Automated slide stainer |
Programmed routine staining |
|
Automated coverslipper |
Places a coverslip onto stained slide |
|
Automated cryostats |
Freezing microtome to cut frozen tissue blocks |
|
Leica Bond-III Automated immunostainer |
Performs automated immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in-situ hybridization (ISH) |
|
Multiple Brightfield microscopes, including one with polarized light |
Sample analyses – quality control |
|
Slide scanner |
Scans stained slides at high resolution for subsequent analysis and publication |
Private and public sector research partners
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI)
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI)
- The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre (TOHCC)
- Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)
- Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association (EORLA)
- Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
- Health Canada
- National Research Council (NRC)
- Canadian Nuclear Labs
Additional information
|
Title |
URL |
|---|---|
|
The Louise Pelletier Histology Core: Where images reveal stories on a cellular level |
https://med.uottawa.ca/en/news/louise-pelletier-histology-core-where-images-reveal-stories-cellular… |