The School of Pharmacy maintains multiple core labs for use by faculty and other researchers to support the cutting-edge work pursued by scientists throughout the School and the University. These laboratories include state-of-the-art equipment suites with appropriate research staff support, providing facilities not typically maintained in individual labs.

Translational Lab

The Translational Research Laboratory, on the Jane and Gale Bensussen Floor (5th floor) of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Center, is designed to promote translational therapeutic discovery. This school-wide core laboratory is composed of two major units: the Bioinformatics/Computational Chemistry Unit equipped with graphic workstations and modeling programs that provide for computer-based virtual screening and rational drug design applications; and the Therapeutic Screening Unit which houses various state-of-the-art specialized instruments enabling a broad range of automated and multiplexed biological analyses in a throughput manner.

Histology Lab

The Histology Laboratory, located on the 4th floor of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Center, is a core laboratory open to any USC researcher. This lab provides all facilities necessary for the creation of microscope slides from tissue samples. Tissues can be paraffin-embedded, sectioned or stained in the laboratory. Sectioning can involve making microtome, vibratome or cryostat thin slices. Color photographs of microscopic images can be created for publication. Expert advice is available concerning staining techniques and the interpretation of microscopic images.

Flow Cytometry Lab

The Flow Cytometry Laboratory, located on the 4th floor of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Center, is equipped with up-to-the-date instrumentation that enables multicolor flow cytometric analyses and sorting. This core laboratory is open to all USC researchers and provides expert advice and technical training on experimental design, instrument operation and data analyses.

Lentiviral Lab

The Lentiviral Laboratory, located on the 2nd floor of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Center, provides services for the production of small-scale lentiviral stocks containing a given gene of interest and lentiviral titrations, concentrations and transductions of cells of interest. The lab facilities are equipped to construct individual lentiviral vectors, including sub-cloning of the gene of interest into a pLVX-puro lentiviral vector.