About
The Stem Cell Facility, located in 336 Barker Hall, supports research by providing human pluripotent stem cells, media, supplies and expertise on a recharge basis for more than 40 different laboratories on and off the main campus. The facility provides cell cultures for researchers to take to their labs for experiments, provides media and materials for checkout, and also allows use of laminar flow hoods, incubators and microscopes for researchers who are using cells provided by the Facility, to use on site. See our services section for more details below.
Services
- Expert consultation for researchers regarding cell culture needs, media, and experimental design
- Grow and culture of the Allen Institute genome-engineered human iPSC cell collection, WTC-11, and others
- Cell Authentication by STR analysis provided in conjunction with the DNA Sequencing Facility (More Info)
- Detect Karyotypic Abnormalities in Human ES and IPS cells provided in conjunction with the DNA Sequencing Facility
- (Sample Instructions | Order Form)
- Mycoplasma screening
- User training in cell culture technique
- Cryopreservation of cell lines
- Provide tested media, serum, and cell lines
- Provide and stock cell culture reagents including media, serum, additives, and other reagents
- Use of 2 laminar flow hoods for mammalian or insect cell manipulation*
- Contract work for outside companies
*Major equipment includes five biosafety cabinets; two phase contrast microscopes, one fluorescence microscope seven CO2 incubators, one mixed gas incubator and two incubators for insect cell lines; two incubators for large scale growth of cells using roller bottles or spinner flasks; cold storage facilities consisting of cryogenic storage dewars, one ultra low freezer, four -15° C freezers, two refrigerators and a cold room for storage. The core is located in three rooms in Barker Hall with easy access for most researchers in UCB.
Ordering and Hood Reservations
- Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) Order Form
- Mycoplasma Testing Order Form
- Hood Reservations*
Cell Culture Training
Depending on experience, number of trainees, and specific training requests, training can last anywhere from 1-3 hours. Please note that we do not provide training on Mondays or Fridays.
Rates
Hourly rate:
University of California Laboratories: $68/hr *
External laboratories (academic and industry): $110/hr
*Most orders can be completed in 15 minutes for a total of $17 (ie 6-well plate orders, T-75 orders, 10cm dish orders etc)
Vials:
University of California laboratories: $68/vial
External laboratories (academic and industry): $110/vial *
*Shipping and dry ice fee not included
Available Cell Lines and Media
List of Cell Lines
List of Media (PDF)
If you don't find the cell line you're interested in please email cellculture@berkeley.edu.
If you order cells from ATCC, you can deposit them with the Cell Culture Facility. We can expand your cell line and store multiple vials in our Facility.
If you want to deposit a non-ATCC cell line in our facility please refer to the Protocols page of our website and review the Mycoplasma Screening protocol. If you can provide the Facility with a fixed, mycoplasma free sample on a coverslip we will gladly accept your line.
Allen Institute Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC)
The UC Berkeley Cell Culture Facility is excited to offer many fluorescently tagged hiPSC lines created by the Allen Institute. The Allen Cell Collection has 52 high quality-certified fluorescently tagged hiPSC lines that target 41 key cellular structures and substructures available to help your research program. You can find supplies for culturing these cells including matrigel, media, rock inhibitor at our facility.
All of our hiPSC banks have been validated using STR, Gband analysis, and markers for stemness at our lab. They have also been screened for mycoplasma.
Please make sure your lab has BSL2 approval on your BUA and that you have SCRO (Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee) approval before placing any orders (click here for more information).
Additional information regarding certificate of analysis can be found here. Culturing protocols, images, and videos can be found in our protocol section.
Please note that an MTA is required for the distribution of these stem cell lines, which you can find here.
For University of California stem cell laboratories:
Our MTA with the Coriell Institute allows us to sell any hiPSC cell line from the Allen Institute Cell Collection to other labs in the UC System at a significant discount. Please contact us for our rates.
Protocols
Cell Culture Protocols
Mycoplasma Screening
UCB Core Facilities for Analyzing Your Cells
- Electron Microscope Lab
- Cancer Research Lab (Flow Cytometry Facility, Imaging Facility and and Gene Targeting Facility)
- Biological Imaging Facility
- Flow Cytometry Core Facilites
- Core Research Facilities at QB3
Contamination Resources
You can find resources for the most common types of contamination here.
Publications and Grants
Publications incorporating core services should credit the UCB Cell Culture Facility which is supported by The University of California Berkeley. Our RRID is SCR_017924. A resource statement for grant applications is available below:
The Cell Culture Facility provides mycoplasma testing, cell authentication using short tandem repeat analysis, growing of cultured mammalian and insect cells, the entire Allen Institute for Cell Science genome-engineered human iPS cell collection and cell storage services. In addition, the Facility trains users in cell culture techniques and provides sterile hood facilities for users. Major equipment includes five biosafety cabinets; two phase contrast microscopes, one fluorescence microscope seven CO2 incubators, one mixed gas incubator and two incubators for insect cell lines; 2 incubators for large scale growth of cells using roller bottles or spinner flasks; cold storage facilities consisting of cryogenic storage dewars, one ultra low freezer, four -15° C freezers and 2 refrigerators and a cold room for storage. The cell culture facility stocks cell culture reagents including media, sera, additives, and other reagents. The core is located in three rooms in Barker Hall with easy access for most researchers in UCB.
Contact Information
Staff:
Core Facilities Director: Alison Killilea
Staff Research Associate: Willie S. Hercule
Undergraduate: Mahiya Ellis
Undergraduate: Tiffany Le
Undergraduate: Nina Nguyen
For services and questions, please contact us by email at cellculture@berkeley.edu or by phone at 510-664-4053.
After Hours Access
Barker is unlocked during business hours and card access is not needed M-F 7am to 5pm.
If you need to access our facility after hours please fill out this form. You must have a Berkeley ID. Please allow up to one week for your ID to be processed.