Core research labs

Core labs at KU benefit university investigators and industry partners alike. Each lab has experienced professionals and state-of-the-art technology to support you throughout your project.
Three researchers work in a petroleum engineering lab
Steven Soper looks through a window into the nanofabrication facility where a researcher is working with equipment

Working with core research labs provides multiple benefits:

  • Full-time technicians to train you to use selected equipment
  • Temporary expertise for your project when you need it
  • Expert consulting on research design and proposal development
  • Consultation on manuscript preparation

For external partners, outsourcing research to KU's state-of-art facilities has helped our corporate partners defray costs, extend capabilities, access expert scientific advice and service, and solve problems.

If you are interested in working with one of our labs, contact the director to discuss capabilities, equipment availability, service rates and policies. 

There is no contract necessary for academic researchers, but if you should require a nondisclosure agreement to discuss a project, contact KU's Agreements Group at indcontracts@ku.edu or 785-864-7403

The Animal Care Unit is responsible for care of all teaching and research animals on the Lawrence campus.

Access the Animal Care Unit intranet

The Biopharmaceutical Innovation & Optimization Center provides drug delivery, solubilization, and stabilization services to KU researchers.

Learn more about the Biopharmaceutical Innovation Optimization Center

The Center for Research Computing provides high-performance computing resources that are able to process and meaningfully analyze large volumes of data.

Learn more about the Center for Research Computing

The Computational Chemical Biology Core provides the computational resources and expertise to enhance the productivity of researchers studying infectious diseases. 

Learn more about the Computational Chemical Biology Core

The Experimental and Preclinical Imaging Core provides investigators with the ability to optimize drug treatments in small animals and cell lines, including both small molecule and nanoparticle drug delivery.

Learn more about the Experimental and Preclinical Imaging Core

The Flow Cytometry Core (FC) provides access to flow cytometry and cell sorting instrumentation and expertise to researchers.

Learn more about the Flow Cytometry Core lab

The Genome Sequencing Core lab provides next-generation sequencing, an enabling technology that is revolutionizing biological and biomedical research.

Learn more about the Genome Sequencing Core lab

The High Throughput Screening Laboratory strives to provide researchers with the ability to run high-throughput chemical, siRNA, and high-content imaging screens.

Learn more about the High Throughput Screening Laboratory

The Infectious Disease Assay Development Core provides expertise, facilities, services, and training in the area of assay design, development, validation, small and large-scale screening for organism-based or biochemical infectious disease targets.

Learn more about the Infectious Disease Assay Development Core

The Mass Spectrometry & Analytical Proteomics Lab is a research resource that provides collaboration and service in chemical analysis by mass spectrometry and to educate investigators on the uses of mass spectrometry as a research tool.

Learn more about the Mass Spectrometry & Analytical Proteomics Lab

The Microscopy & Analytical Imaging Research Resource core laboratory provides life and physical sciences and engineering users a wide spectrum of sample preparation tools and techniques and imaging technologies.

Learn more about the Microscopy & Analytical Imaging Research Resource core laboratory

The Molecular Graphics and Modeling Laboratory provides a number of computational services aimed toward chemical biology and translational science in biomedical research.

Learn more about the Molecular Graphics and Modeling Lab

The Ralph N. Adams Nanofabrication Lab caters primarily to researchers who are manufacturing micro- and nanofluidic devices for biomedical research, but has the equipment and resources to accommodate broad research applications.

Learn more about the Ralph N. Adams Nanofabrication Facility

The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Lab maintains high-field NMR spectrometers, trains users, provides spectra on a service basis, and assists users with design, execution, and interpretation of experiments.

Learn more about the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Lab

Please consult the list of active cores and facilities supported by the NIH's Institutional Development Award (IDeA) for information about protein cloning, expression and purification resources in Kansas and the region. 

Active IDeA-supported cores and facilities

The mission of the Protein Structure & X-Ray Crystallography Laboratory is to provide investigators with state-of-the-art instrumentation, facilities, and expertise for protein crystallization, X-ray data collection, data analysis, and structure solution and refinement from an a la carte menu.

Learn more about the Protein Structure and X-ray Crystallography Laboratory

The Synthetic Chemical Biology Core strives to provide comprehensive synthetic chemistry capabilities to investigators under one roof.

Learn more about the Synthetic Chemical Biology Core


Other core labs at KU

The Biological Irradiation research laboratory provides investigators the ability to examine the effects of radiation treatment upon particular models, such as yeast, fruit flies, nematodes, zebra fish, mammalian cells and small animals. 

Learn more about the Biological Irradiation lab

The Instrumentation Design Lab works across the range of scientific disciplines to create solutions that lead to new or better observations.

Learn more about the Instrumentation Design Lab

The Immune Engineering Lab seeks to invent and apply the latest technologies to develop novel treatments and preventions against human diseases.

Learn more about the Immune Engineering Lab

The Institute for Bioengineering Research designs platforms for biological engineering of materials and systems, creates materials, devices and technologies that will reduce human suffering, educates leaders in bioengineering, and more. 

Learn more about the Institute for Bioengineering Research

Submit an IBER request for certification, training and instrument use

The KU Cancer Center Medicinal Chemistry Lab is currently updating its website. We'll provide a link to learn more about the Center when it becomes available. 

The Tertiary Oil Recovery Program evaluates the full potential of the oil recovery processes in Kansas, including tertiary oil recovery as well as more standard technologies, such as waterflooding.

Learn more about the Tertiary Oil Recovery Program

The Vaccine Analytics and Formulation Center focuses on new vaccine and biotherapeutic candidates for use in low and middle income countries.

Learn more about the Vaccine Analytics and Formulation Center