Flexible Film Isolators
The use of isolators facilitates sterile animal housing and manipulation. Core staff are experts in the use of these systems for rodent husbandry and scientific study.
The Baylor College of Medicine Gnotobiotics Core is operated by the Center for Comparative Medicine in support of the college’s microbiome research initiatives. The facility was established in 2013 and the facility’s seven full time employees currently operate over 100 flexible film isolators in support of approximately 25 academic laboratories at Baylor College of Medicine elsewhere in the Texas Medical Center.
We are supported in part by the Texas Medical Center Digestive Diseases Center, an NIH-funded (P30DK056338) digestive disease research core center designed to serve basic and clinical scientists at institutions within the Texas Medical Center, including Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and MD Anderson Cancer Center. The facility is part of the center’s Gastrointestinal Experimental Model Systems core.
Our Services
The Gnotobiotic Rodent Facility offers the following services.
Germ-Free Colonies
Germ-free animals can be costly to purchase and logistically difficult to ship. To address these barriers, we maintain in-house breeding colonies of germ-free animals and make them available to investigators at cost. This approach reduces both the financial and logistical obstacles associated with conducting microbiome research in these models.
Because space in the facility is limited, core production colonies are carefully sized to meet the current demands of our collaborators. We are occasionally able to fill immediate requests, but frequently must scale up production to account for new projects. Please provide the facility leadership with advance notice of major projects to ensure the availability of animals.
Rodent Strains Available
Mouse Strains:
- Swiss Webster
- C57BL/6J
- C57BL/6NTac
- BALB/cJ
- FVB/NJ
- NSG
Rat Strains:
- F344
To inquire about ordering animals, please contact Stephanie Fowler and/or Chelsea Calderon. BCM PIs can order using the Animal Order Form (login required).
Lab Staff
