Research Facilities

The Department of Anesthesiology maintains its own research laboratories and has access to other areas for clinical studies. In addition, the University of Minnesota is a major research institution that has excellent core facilities in multiple areas available to the entire research community. Arrangements to use these facilities can be made by contacting Dr. Lois Kehl (612-626-0411; lois@mail.ahc.umn.edu), director of research.

Department of Anesthesiology Research Facilities

Biochemistry Laboratory

Agilent 1100 HPLC System

This facility is a 204-square-foot laboratory located in Diehl Hall (F103). It contains a five-foot chemical fume hood, a state-of-the-art Agilent 1100 HPLC with degasser, pump, autosampler, column heater and UV detector coupled to a Gilson FC203B fraction collector and an HP Vectra computer with Chemstation software. A Bio-Tek ELX 800 ELISA plate reader with 96-well plate washer coupled to a computer with KC4 analysis software is also available for use.

General Laboratory

This facility is a 580-square-foot laboratory located in Diehl Hall (G101). It contains general laboratory equipment including a Napco UF600 –80°C freezer with CO2 back-up, a Mettler Toledo AX105 DeltaRange analytical balance, and a pH meter.

Hemodynamics and/or Large Animal Laboratory

Large Animal Laboratory

This facility is a 500-square-foot laboratory located in Diehl Hall (F104). This facility is ideally equipped for in situ surgical preparation and experiments. A Gem Premier 3000 Blood Gas Analyzer from Instrumentation Laboratory is located in this laboratory.

Gem Premier 300 Blood Gas Analyzer

Miscellaneous Bench Laboratory

This facility is a 204-square-foot laboratory located on the first floor of the Mayo Building. It is available for bench research as needed.

Pain Research Laboratory

This is a 100-square-foot laboratory located in Diehl hall (G107) that contains a chemical fume hood and testing equipment to perform a variety of preclinical animal models to investigate pain mechanisms in small animals. Available equipment includes a Hargreaves Box to test thermal paw withdrawal latencies, a grip force analyzer to test musculoskeletal hyperalgesia, tailflick apparatus, hotplate, and rodent treadmill.

Tissue Culture Laboratory

This facility is a 140-square-foot laboratory located in Diehl Hall (G105) that is equipped with a Forma laminar flow hood and a Forma CO2 incubator.

Related University of Minnesota Research Facilities and Services

The Research Services Organization provides researchers at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center convenient and effective support for the preparation of research proposals, performance of clinical trials, management of research projects, and development of innovative technology. Services available include assistance with the approval process (IRB, legal, Sponsored Projects Administration etc…), subject recruitment, subject tracking, and management of project finances. These services are available to investigators at an hourly rate.

The University of Minnesota hosts one of the largest groups of researchers investigating pain in the country. Currently, there are 14 basic science researchers and 10 clinical researchers whose work specifically focuses on pain. The Center for Pain Research was established to facilitate and coordinate collaborative activities among these pain researchers and others around the country in addition to being a resource for clinicians who manage pain. The Center is headquartered in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Building.

The NIH funded General Clinical Research Center offers opportunities for faculty, fellows, residents, and students within the Academic Health Center to study normal human physiology, the pathophysiology of human disease, and disease treatments in a setting specifically designed for clinical investigation. Resources include: inpatient and outpatient rooms, research nursing staff, patient dining room, computer facility, sample processing and preparation, specimen freezing, a Magnetic Resonance Core to assist with magnetic resonance imaging, a gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) core for sample analysis, and a biostatistician to provide investigators complete support with planning treatments and strata, choosing a study design, calculating the required sample size and power, planning the data analysis, and organizing the collection and management of data.

The Biomedical Image Processing Lab maintains two Biorad confocal microscopes, a two photon system, image analysis work stations with quantification and 3-D reconstruction software, a Bio-Rad 600dpi densitometer, a phospho- and chemi-luminescent reader, a Bio-Rad Gel-Dock, Bio-Rad “Molecular Analyst” (v.21) software, a 1200 dpi color and a black & white flatbed scanner and high quality thermal and laser printers. BIPL is staffed by three full-time technicians with expertise in microscopy and imaging methodologies who are there specifically to assist researchers using the facility. The presence and approachability of these individuals creates a user-friendly environment in which researchers at all background and skill levels can take advantage of their extensive resources.

The NIH funded TMJ Implant Tissue Repository, for which Dr. Kehl serves as director of neuroscience research, is a 1408 square foot laboratory facility features all equipment and materials necessary to archive and completely process human specimens for anatomical studies according to strict HIPAA standards including a human tissue Vibratome 7500 Cryostat, Revco Ultima II -140C freezer, Olympus BX50 with Olympus DP10 digital camera, TBS ATP1 Automatic Tissue Processor and Embedding Station, Hacker microtome and a specimen bar coding system with Bar Tender software (NIH-funded tissue repository, 18-229 Moos Tower). The Repository is directed by Dr. Sandra Myers, an oral pathologist, and has three full-time and one part-time staff.

The Center for Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics is a service and education focused facility that serves principal investigators in over 30 departments at the University of Minnesota and provides training to students and postdoctoral fellows. The facility staff is very adept at supporting those who would like to become proficient in planning and executing proteomic projects. They offer 3-5 day intensive short courses in mass spectrometry and proteomics at regular intervals.