Single-Cell Phospho-Profiling -- Core Facility

The Single-Cell Phospho-Profiling core facility for the Physical Sciences/Oncology Center(PSOC) at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is dedicated to performing single-cell phospho-profiling assays on tumor cells. New technologies will be applied to monitor and characterize quantitatively the functional phenotype of tumor cell lines or primary tumor cells in their native context. To achieve this, we will rely on flow cytometry to multiplex measurements of phenotypic variability, functional state of activation and/or the response to drugs in heterogeneous populations of cells.

Specifically, the PSOC core at Memorial Sloan-Kettering will focus on measuring phospho-profiles of drug-sensitive pathways (e.g. EGFR), downstream signaling cascades (e.g. AKT and MAPK pathways), cell-cycle phases, and apoptotic response at the single cell level. Special emphasis will be given to quantification of parameters for the dynamics of tumor cell proliferation and death (e.g. during drug treatment with varying concentration).

This core will contribute to the PSOC by providing quantitative measurements that parameterize “cellular fitness” (as a convolution of cell cycle and apoptosis dynamics) and signaling events in colorectal/glioma neurospheres/leukemia lines of the relevant genotypes. These measurements will be inserted into the modeling framework under development at the PSOC.

[The National Cancer Institute has awarded cooperative agreements to 12 leading institutions, including Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, to build a collaborative network of Physical Science-Oncology Centers (PSOCs). The Single-Cell Phospho-Profiling laboratory serves as Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s Physical Sciences/Oncology Center core facility.]