HTRL Infectious Disease Core Facility

The Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory (HTRL) is a regional biocontainment laboratory with several designated biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) and level 3 (BSL-3) suites, which are used to perform infectious disease research. The HTRL is on the campus of Argonne National Laboratory and is managed by the University of Chicago and its Biological Sciences Division under the leadership of Dominique Missiakas, Professor of Microbiology.

In addition to hosting several research groups, the HTRL serves as a training platform for scientists, enables rapid responses and research on Risk Group 2 (RG2) and RG3 infectious disease threats, including new and re-emerging agents, Select Agent pathogens, and biological toxins, and insures that knowledge is shared with the scientific community and public, in a timely manner. Research for external users can be performed under a collaborative agreement or as a fee-for-service.

Management and Funding

The facility is managed by its Director, Dr. Missiakas, and operated by a team of engineering, biosafety, facility and research staff. Management of BSL-3 operations at the HTRL is supported by a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) UC7 award (AI180312). Management of BSL-2 research is supported by the University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division.

Molecular Services

• RNA extraction
• First-strand cDNA synthesis
• Quantitative RT-PCR