HIMC - Human Immune Monitoring Center
The Human Immune Monitoring Center (HIMC) is designed to be a comprehensive source for immune monitoring services for clinical and translational studies. Goals of the HIMC include:
- To provide standardized, state-of-the art immune monitoring assays at the RNA, protein, and cellular level. These are assays that have already been validated in the HIMC. They are listed on our Protocols page.
- To test and develop new technologies for immune monitoring. Technologies currently under evaluation include those listed in Box 1.
- isoelectic focusing analysis of phosphoproteins (CellBiosciences)
- electrochemiluminescent cytokine detection (MesoScale Discovery)
- biomolecular interaction analysis (ForteBio)
- multiplexed tetramer analysis
- flow cytometry with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CyTof)
- qPCR arrays on sorted cell populations (Fluidigm BioMark).
- To efficiently archive, report, and mine data from immune monitoring studies, so as to increase the value of the data and to assist in biomarker discovery. The HIMC uses an online database for integration of data from the standard HIMC assays, along with de-identified clinical and demographic data. One year after release of results to an investigator, data will be released for all users of the HIMC to access, unless appealed by the investigator for reasons of still-pending publication.
Box 1. Technologies Under Development:
To be useful in the context of biomarker discovery, immune monitoring needs to be both comprehensive and standardized. Comprehensive monitoring of the immune system implies analysis of factors that contribute to immunological protection. Even in diseases where a single facet of the immune system (e.g., cytotoxic T cells) is thought to be critical, other contributing or compensatory factors may be present within the remaining immunological systems. In such situations, non-comprehensive studies of one or a few facets of the immune system might never elucidate truly useful biomarkers, because of the underlying complexity. Also, many defects of the immune response are not readily observed in resting cells; a perturbation of the system (mitogen or cytokine signaling) is required to reveal the defect. Thus, comprehensive immune monitoring should include not only phenotyping of cell subsets, but also functional assays, such as phosphoepitope analysis and/or cytokine production.
Support for the HIMC
The Institute of Immunity, Transplantation and Infection (ITI) proudly acknowledges the support of: The HEDCO Foundation, The Russell Foundation, The Sidney E. Frank Foundation, Becton, Dickinson and Co, the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award and the Office of the Dean. The creation of the HIMC was made possible by their generous contributions.
To help further support this bold endeavor, please contact June Lang, Senior Director of Development, Stanford University Medical Center: Email jplang at stanford dot edu [jplang] or tel: (650) 234-0674
Standardized immune monitoring assays are those that have been designed to minimize intra- and inter-assay variability, so that they can be sensitive to small changes that might characterize a disease state, and resistant to interference from irrelevant factors. The HIMC has standardized certain core assays, and constantly evaluates new technologies for development as standardized services.
The HIMC was developed in 2007 by the Institute for Immunity, Transplantation, and Infection (Mark Davis, Ph.D., director) in conjunction with the Center for Clinical Immunology (C. Garrison Fathman, founder).
In accordance with Dean's office policy: If work done with the HIMC produces data in a publication, you must acknowledge us ("Stanford Human Immune Monitoring Center") in the publication. Further, if HIMC staff provide significant experimental design, data interpretation, or other intellectual contribution (as evaluated by the PI), then it is expected that these individuals will be coauthors on the publication.
For more information contact:
Holden T. Maecker, PhD
Director, Human Immune Monitoring Center
Fairchild Science Bldg, D039, 299 Campus Dr
Stanford. CA 94305-5124
Phone: 650-723-1671 E-mail: maecker@stanford.edu
ITI Internal