Vanderbilt High Throughput Screening Core Group (VHTS)

Overview of Services

The Vanderbilt HTS Core

The Vanderbilt High-throughput Screening (VHTS) core facility uses leading-edge technologies and practices to guide basic research and pharmacological discovery investigators through the drug discovery process, from assay conception to lead compound identification. The VHTS facility provides training and full-service access to state-of-the-art HTS instrumentation, including tip-based and non-contact liquid handlers, robotic arms for plate handling and automation, multi-mode plate readers, kinetic plate readers/imaging, high-content imaging, and a high-throughput patch clamp. Staff can help with assay development (biochemical, cell-based, 3D cultures/organoids), distribution of compound/drug/RNAi/ORF libraries, compound management, screening, automation, data analyses, and informatics solutions. The VHTS houses over 350,000 diverse small molecules, including more than 2,200 human-tested drug candidates and FDA-approved drug sets. Staff can provide functional genomics screening services using a whole genome siRNA collection (18,100 genes) and ORFeome library (15,500 genes), and can do CRISPR-arrayed library screening. High-content imaging using their automated microscopy system allows for phenotypic assay development and discoveries.

VHTS Staff and Services

The assay development and VHTS team is a group of expert staff responsible for developing and automating biological assays as well as conducting biochemical and cell-based high-throughput screens to identify new lead compounds that benefit both mechanistic studies and drug discovery/development. Working closely with research investigators, the HTS team strives to provide rapid, cost-effective assay development and chemical library screening. The team aids in instrument training/assistance, assay optimization, pilot screening, automation, data capture and analysis, full library screening, and screen validation.

VHTS Instrumentation

The VHTS facility houses state-of-the-art liquid handlers and multi-mode plate readers that are compatible with a range of assay designs.  Liquid handling capabilities allow for volume transfers ranging from 2.5 nanoliters to milliliters, in various combinations of fixed and random plate arrays. Instrument technologies include iterative scanning plate reading, kinetic imaging plate reading, high-content imaging, and scintillation counting. These technologies support a range of assay modes including fluorescence, luminescence, fluorescence polarization, time-resolved fluorescence, AlphaScreen, absorbance, fluorescence, and transmitted light microscopy and radiometric. The instrument may be used as part of a full-service model including staff support or you may be trained for independent use.

Compound Management

The VHTS houses a state-of-the-art automated compound management system (Hamilton Verso) that provides environmentally controlled storage and on-demand access to the library compounds. The chemical library collection consists of chemically diverse screening libraries to smaller, targeted collections. Compounds can be dispensed into a variety of tube and plate formats to accommodate the research investigator’s needs.

Data Management and Informatics

The data management and informatics team is responsible for integrating automation and instrumentation with downstream data handling and reporting.  They have developed a flexible plate-based analysis software platform enabling the storage, analysis and querying of experimental data including container-level sample tracking. 

Leadership

Joshua A. Bauer, Ph.D.
Director, High Throughput Screening Facility
Director, Functional Genomics Screening & High-Content Imaging

Core Staff

VHTS Staff

 Compound Management

 Data Management and Informatics

Hours of Operation and Location

Links and Resources

Website: https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/hts/

General Questions/Contact: hts@vanderbilt.edu

Directions:   HTS Core - Google Maps

Contacts