Mount Sinai Health System Guidance on COVID-19 and Research – Learn More

Recording of March 18, 2020 Town Hall with Drs. Charney, Filizola, Nestler, and Miller – (031820 Webinar w: Drs. Charney & Nestler.mp4.)

FAQs from the above Town Hall

COVID-19 Update

The cores are open to support Covid-19 research, approved essential studies, and the ramping down phase of other essential work. As we work through the new directives on ramping down research, the Core Directors will decide what studies will/will not go forward. A list of Cores and the Directors is below. Please contact individual Core Directors with your requests. You may also contact the Dean’s Office directly if you have questions: reginald.miller@mssm.edu.

Cryopreservation Support

Liquid Nitrogen (LN₂) and Carbon Dioxide (C0₂)

The primary vendor for LN₂ and C0₂ in the Metropolitan NY Area is TW Smith. This vendor delivers large, 50-gallon tanks to campus 2-3 times per week. As a critical care vendor to hospitals and other essential services, TW Smith has received approval to continue operations during emergencies as an Essential Service. Furthermore, healthcare facilities/research institutions receive priority delivery during any shortages in supply. Deliveries of LN₂ will continue, without interruption. Labs should plan to have someone on site to receive scheduled deliveries. Note: By design, LN₂ tanks continuously evaporate during use or storage to prevent dangerous pressure build-up. Thus, it is impractical to store extra tanks on campus to prevent shortages. Regular deliveries are the best option.

Cryogenic Storage Facility

Although deliveries are expected to continue, best practices suggest establishing back-up plans for unanticipated emergencies (natural disasters, work stoppages, etc.) The use of small LN₂ dewars is a common practice within many labs using cell lines. These units, due to their small size, require frequent refilling. The ISSMS has established a Cryogenic Storage Facility outfitted with several large, stainless steel, LN₂ tanks, each with a capacity for 700 boxes. These units have an LN₂ tank duration of four (4) weeks. Each tank is temperature monitored 24/7 with remote call-out features. It is highly recommended that researchers consider establishing a back-up supply of critical cell lines in this facility. To learn more about the facilty, please visit- Please contact Shen Yao at shen.yao@mssm.edu for additional information. A cost estimate can be obtained by filling out a Cryogenic Facility Rental Request Form.

Freezers (-150, -80, -40^oC) and Refrigerators (4^oC)

Each laboratory should ensure current contact information is attached to each freezer on campus. Contact information must include one external number for after-hours emergencies. Ideally, each unit would also be attached to a temperature monitoring system with a remote call out feature. Finally, where feasible, emergency power should be prioritized for (-80) freezers or other critical storage units (expensive reagents, valuable specimens). Freezers should be checked daily to ensure proper operation.

Freezer Failures

Failures are an unfortunate reality for all mechanical equipment and freezers are no exception. These failures often occur after-hours or on weekends resulting in catastrophic losses. The ISMMS has engaged with a commercial entity, LabVendor, for after-hours responses to freezer emergencies. The company provides specimen relocation into one of the Hess Freezer Farm back-up units.

To access this service, see the Hess Freezer Farm under https://icahn.mssm.edu/research/portal/resources/deans-cores/freezer-farm. Contact: Tamjeed Sikder- Manager, Hess Freezer Farm to arrange for specimen transfers. Please contact the Hess Freezer Farm if you have specific questions on this program.

Offsite Housing for Freezers

The ISMMS has maintained an offsite freezer farm in the Bronx, NY, for many years. Storage is free to all Mount Sinai researchers. Due to the limited space on campus for freezers, shortage of emergency power, and best practice of back up storage, investigators are encouraged to explore the off-site freezer storage option. All archival samples should be maintained off-site rather than using valuable on-campus space. Please contact Shekhar Patil, PhD- Core Admin Director (shekhar.patil@mssm.edu), to discuss off-site freezer storage at Brooks, Inc.

Dry Ice

The campus vendor for dry ice is Dry Ice Corporation. While there are other smaller vendors, most are subcontractors with Dry Ice, Corp. This vendor is recognized as an Essential Service and thus operates during emergencies. Deliveries of dry ice will continue uninterrupted. However, during the decrease in lab activity, the amount of dry ice required will decrease as well. We must use caution in reducing dry ice delivery amounts as the vendor may prioritize those facilities with the greatest perceived need. Note: Many clinical operations also require small amounts of dry ice (specimen shipping, etc) thus reductions in deliveries may affect those areas. Any reductions in dry ice ordering should be discussed with the Dean’s office before moving forward.

The preceding guidelines should be consulted during and after this COVID-19 emergency as best practices to ensure sample protection and research continuity. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions or suggestions.

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Dean's CoREs bring state-of-the-art, crucial instrumentation and methodologies for modern biomedical research within reach of all Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigators, post docs, and graduate students. Our facilities are staffed by experts who not only provide research services, but are also sources of instruction and training. As such, our CoREs constitute a major educational resource for those wishing to diversify or explore new avenues of research. CoREs are administered through the Office of the Dean and partially subsidized by institutional funds. Should you wish to establish a new Dean’s CoREs, you may submit a proposal that involves users from multiple departments and disciplines for review by the Dean’s Office.

General Guidelines

• CoREs are open to all faculty, with equal access regardless of departmental or center affiliation; priority is given to Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty over external users.
• The CoREs utilize the iLab Platform (core managemnt software) to reserve equipment, request services, and billing.
• All users must register for an iLab account using the link: https://ismms.corefacilities.org/account/login 
• Use of CoRE services requires authorization from a Principal Investigator, for billing purposes. 
• Billing is inititiated when service is requested. 
• Users are invoiced and billed by fund number on a monthly basis.
• Users who cancel appointments less than 24 hours in advance are subject to full charge.
• Direct questions regarding monthly billing should be directed to CoRE Directors.
• The CoREs are not responsible for the application of their products or outcome of research studies involving their products.
• Each CoRE has an advisory committee that meets semi-annually with the CoRE directors. 

Administration, Dean’s CoREs

Meet the team that manages all administrative aspects of of our Dean’s CoREs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Reginald W. Miller, DVM, DACLAM
Dean for Research Operations and Infrastructure

Shekhar Patil, PhD, Administrative Director

Veronica Moses, CM, Financial Director

Viviana Badillo, Financial Analyst