Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics at Peter Mac

Fully automated CellInsight CX7-PRO x 2 units, widefield, confocal, live-cell imaging. Cytation C10 spinning disk confocal, Cytation 5, widefield imaging

Incucyte SX5 (red, green, orange channels) Cytation 5 via the BioSpa incubator

Cytation 5 and C10 both are sophisticated plate readers that have spectral monochromators, direct injection for kinetic measurements, luminescence, fluorescence and alpha screen enabled

Caliper ALH3000 and Janus G3 liquid handling robots for all transfection and speciality liquid handling applications. Rastrum Allegro 3D bioprinter for embedding cells in hydrogels. BioTek 406: three units that aspirate and dispense media, cells, fix and stain BioTek multi-flo: aspirate and dispense any plate type. Tecan D300E and Duo units for digital drug dispensing. Mini-Fontus for high throughput Legend-Plex staining. High throughput flow cytometry in collaboration with Peter Mac Research Flow Core.

AMAXA 4D nucleofector with 96 well adaptor, Neon nucleofector. LiCONICs 220 stacking tower incubator .EVOS Fl, bench top fluorescent microscope Barcode printer; all instruments are barcode-read enabled Dedicated and fully backed up server for data and image storage

The VCFG provides a complete screening service, which includes data analysis and it is here that we invest significant energy to ensure that we are updating our pipelines and innovating to maximise the outcomes and identify the most robust hit list. We are assay development specialists, in particular, our focus is on ways to phenotype cells using high content imaging, and by extension, using machine learning strategies to identify target agent activity within screens and across multiple cell lines. We are currently developing tools to integrate phenotypic data with other multi-omics technologies. We have data analysis pipelines for drug and synthetic CRISPR screens in 2D adherent cells using imaging at any scale, single channel to complex multi-parametric staining. Within the 3D space, we can embed cell lines, PDX or PDO's in matrices using automation, which allows us to characterise growth, quantitate structure size, viability and response to death or morphology inducing agents, built on bright field and fluorescent imaging methodologies. This has driven a number of clinical trial programs, with our sophisticated strategy to turn around from patient to outcome in less than 4 weeks. We have developed high throughput transcriptomics in conjunction with the Molecular Genomics Core Facility at PeterMac. Using MAC-seq, sequencing can now be performed at scale, from cells cultured in 384 well format, allowing a transcriptional profile from cells treated with drugs, CRISPR or RNAi and or more simply, just characterising patient cells grown in 3D over time. We have developed the tools to integrate the phenotypic and genotypic outcomes of a screen. Researchers can now explore and visualise their data using our novel DIVE (data interrogation visualisation and exploration) dashboards.