Cell Engineering Research Equipment Suite - CERES
CERES@WPI is a fee-for-use facility designed to provide WPI researchers and regional industry and academic partners access to state-of-the-art instruments for quantitative analysis of engineered cells. It is located within the WPI Biomanufacturing Education and Training Center, Suite 2400, at 50 Prescott Street in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The main lab capabilities are:
- automated liquid dispensing systems to enable rapid plate preparation and cell screening (epMotion and Echo systems)
- automated cell imaging and multimode plate reading (Keyence BZ810 and BioTek Cytation5)
- quantitative analysis of gene expression (BioRad QX200 automated droplet digital PCR)
- flow cytometry (Beckman Coulter CytoFlex 3-laser and 4-laser cytometers; analysis only –sorting not available)
This facility is of broad interest to researchers and companies developing cell and gene therapies, engineering cells to manufacture commercially valuable products, defining critical quality attributes (CQAs) for cell, gene therapy, and biomolecule analysis and characterization, among many other applications.
In addition, the facility will accelerate research probing fundamental mechanisms of cell and tissue biology with applications in cancer, immunology, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, synthetic biology, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
CERES was funded by a 2020 Open Capital Award from the Massachusetts Life Science Center (MLSC). The equipment capabilities were designed through partnership between WPI and Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI).
For general inquiries, please contact ceres@wpi.edu.
Are you a member of the WPI community looking to engage with CERES?
Learn more about what capabilities and areas of expertise are located at CERES. The facility is housed at Gateway II, next to the Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at 50 Prescott Street.