Laboratory of Investigative Medicine

The Laboratory of Investigative Medicine (LIM) is dedicated to analyzing biological specimens for biochemical and pharmacological endpoints to support clinical studies at Thomas Jefferson University. The laboratory participates in the processing and/or analysis of about 5,000 to 10,000 specimens each year. The laboratory has three components, including a 200-sq-ft sample processing facility located in the Thomas Jefferson University Clinical Research Unit, a 1,000-sq-ft analytical laboratory on the 8th floor of the Medical Office Building, and a 600-sq-ft analytical laboratory adjacent to the Clinical Research Unit.

Giovanni M. Pitari, MD, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Medicine, is the Director of the Laboratory of Investigative Medicine and has two years of experience supervising analytical activities that support clinical research. A licensed medical technologist and a research technician, who are responsible for sample processing and the conduct of sample analyses, staff the laboratory.

Analytical capabilities of this laboratory are diverse and have included functional analyses, such as platelet aggregomtery, metabolic phenotyping of patients, and analysis of enzyme or receptor activities, and analyses of analytes, drugs, and hormones. The laboratory is staffed and equipped to perform sophisticated analyses of body fluids to support pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies, including high performance liquid chromatography analyses employing ultra violet or electrochemical detection of analytes.

Previous studies have included analyses of parent compounds and metabolites of agents such as warfarin, tolbutamide, caffeine, phenytoin, and dextromethrophan. The laboratory has experience in assay generation and validation to support phase I clinical trials.

• Platelet aggregometry
• Metabolic phenotyping
• Enzyme and receptor function
• Analyte identification and quantification
• Drug quantification
• Hormone identification and quantification
• SNP analysis
• Tissue culture
• Genomic analysis

The Laboratory of Investigative Medicine (LIM) is the analytical laboratory associated with the Thomas Jefferson University Clinical Research Unit (CRU). The LIM occupies three modules each equipped with fume hoods, comprising 1,800 sq. ft. and is fully equipped to analyze functional, quantitative, and molecular pharmacological endpoints to support clinical trials conducted at Jefferson and as a core analytical laboratory to support multi-institution studies. The LIM has access to two 150-sq.-ft. cell culture facilities, a microscopy suite, a darkroom, a walk-in cold (4°C) room, offices, a meeting room, and centralized computer facilities. Also, the LIM has access to equipment, including: an ABI 7900HT Sequence Detection System; ultra-speed, low-speed and benchtop refrigerated centrifuges; Savant evaporator with pump; gel dryers; laminar flow, bacteriology, and molecular biology hoods; CO2 incubators; gamma and liquid scintillation counters; spectrophotometer; polyacrylamide and sequencing gel electrophoresis components with high voltage power supplies; -20°C freezers and refrigerators; -70°C freezers; pH meters, balances, homogenizers, sonicators, tissue disruptors; blotting apparatuses; HPLC systems with UV and electrochemical detectors; automated 96-well plate reader; automated densitometer for scanning slab gels; and automated thermocyclers for PCR analyses.

The LIM is fully equipped to analyze functional, quantitative, and molecular pharmacological endpoints to support clinical trials conducted at Jefferson and as a core analytical laboratory to support multi-institution studies. About 50% of the studies performed in the CRU involve surrogate endpoint analyses in the LIM. In addition, the LIM serves as the core analytical laboratory for multi-center clinical research protocols. This laboratory typically processes ~3,000 assays/year.

• Platelet Aggregometry
• HPLC
• Coulter Analysis (e.g., determination of the number of cells sorted according to size)
• ELISA
• Assay for binding of agents to proteins
• Radiation Spectrophotometry
• Quantitative Fluorometry
• In Vitro analysis of cells and tissues
• Quantitative and qualitative RT-PCR
• Microarray