Melissa Vinores Olson, Ph.D.

The GRCF is the largest core service center at Johns Hopkins University located on Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes campus in Baltimore, Maryland. The center offers support services and supplies to Johns Hopkins researchers as well as the scientific community at large.

The Genetic Resources Core Facility (GRCF)  is a JHU service center including the Core Store, Biorepository & Cell Center, and the DNA Services.  Collectively, these groups produce a number of products and services to aid researchers in performing studies in molecular biology and genetics.  It is our mission to provide high quality, cost-effective research services, and products to investigators throughout the Johns Hopkins Scientific Community.

Biorepository & Cell Center facilitates CAP-accredited clinical and basic scientific research by providing expertise and service in blood and biomaterial processing, mammalian cell culture, single-cell genomics, cryogenic storage, and national/international shipping.

Core Store provides one-stop shopping for more than 400,000 products from 17 of the leading life science companies.  In addition to its product offering the store charges no shipping and handling fees and has free delivery to three campuses East Baltimore, Bayview, and Homewood. There is also convenient 24/7 access to several hundred products via the Core Store 24/7 at these locations Blalock 1026, CRB I B02A, and the Asthma and Allergy Building 1A.C4.

The DNA Services group works together to provide solutions for all of your DNA and RNA needs.  We handle basic needs like DNA isolation, plating and storage, “traditional” core services like Sanger sequencing, PCR support and genotyping, and the more complex needs presented by the constantly changing field of next-generation sequencing.