Facilities
CRUSH has been purposefully established for virus research, with extensive Containment Level 3 (CL3) and Containment Level 2 (CL2) laboratories enabling both fundamental research into live high consequence viruses and high-throughput compound screening to support the development of novel therapeutic pipelines. REBL (Richard Elliott Biosafety laboratories) has been specially designed to enable safe handling of pathogens which require CL3, including ACDP Hazard Group 3, SAPO3 and Class 3 agents.
In addition, CRUSH includes animal units for in vivo studies. All of these facilities have been designed with future growth and expansion in mind, allowing for significant increased capacity over the coming years. Our laboratory managers are highly experienced in the operation of high-containment facilities, and our CL3 laboratory was designated as the ‘gold-standard’ by the HSE, demonstrating our commitment to the highest laboratory standards.
Equipment
High-throughput Liquid Handling Robotic platform including Beckman Biomek i7 housed in a class-2 like cabinet, equipped with two robotic arms, which enables library screens in single point and serial dilutions, then cherry picking hits of interest for further experiments.
Agilent FX406 Plate washer dispenser with a plate feeder, which allows processing of up to 30 plates in one cycle for immunofluorescent virus detection.
Agilent Cytation 7 microscopy based reader with a plate feeder, multiplex fluorescence assay (up to 4 channels) available.
Liquid handling pipettes (Integra Mini 96, Viaflo 96 & 384)
FACSAria flow cytometer cell sorter housed within the CL3 suite.
CRUSH is fully integrated into the CVR and has full access to the expertise and facilities of this leading virus research institute. This includes the CVR’s sequencing, imaging & cryo-EM and computational capabilities which can be incorporated into project proposals with no requirement for outsourcing to third parties, giving assurance that every element of each project is completed with the expertise of CVR and CRUSH scientists.
CVR Genomics
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High-throughput sequencing is a vital tool for scientific research and to guide public health actions. CVR Genomics is a team of researchers exclusively dedicated to the development and implementation of high-throughput sequencing solutions applied to viruses. Working in close alignment with the CVR’s Bioinformatics team, they support CVR researchers, external collaborators and provide resources to the virology community.
For further information please see CVR Genomics.
CVR Bioinformatics
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CVR Bioinformatics is a group of computer-based researchers embedded in the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR). Uniquely in the UK, our bioinformaticians are solely dedicated to virology and are experts in a wide range of topics relevant to CVR research priorities. In particular we have expertise in analysing next generation sequencing data, metagenomics, transcriptomics, data integration, molecular evolution and phylogenetics, software engineering and database development.
For further information please see CVR Bioinformatics.
CVR Imaging
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The Scottish Centre for Macromolecular Imaging (SCMI) is the Scottish national cryo-EM facility. Equipped with a fully automated JEOL 300 CRYO ARM, and supported by a network of side-entry 200kV microscopes in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, SCMI offers state-of-the-art equipment for both single particle analysis and cryo-electron tomography.
The centre was established in September 2018 to provide support to researchers across Scotland for cryo-electron microscopy of a wide range of scientific samples. As well as offering advanced instrumentation, the centre is staffed by experienced personnel who provide support and advice in the areas of sample optimisation, preparation and screening of cryo-grids and high resolution data collection.
For further information please see SCMI.