Core Technologies
and Services
Our Core Technologies and Services
Van Andel Institute’s Core Technologies and Services offer a comprehensive range of advanced technologies and expertise to support and enhance research at the Institute and at collaborating organizations. Staffed by highly qualified professionals with an acute understanding of their respective fields, the Core team is committed to providing superior service and conducting exceptional science to further the Institute’s goal of improving human health through basic and translational research.
Core Technologies and Services Directory
Core Leadership & Administration
Bart Williams, Ph.D.
Director, Core Technologies and Services; Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Cell Signaling and Carcinogenesis
Bart Williams, Ph.D.
Director, Core Technologies and Services; Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Biography
Dr. Williams received his Ph.D. in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1996, where he trained with Tyler Jacks. For three years, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health in the laboratory of Harold Varmus, former Director of NIH. Dr. Williams joined VAI as a scientific investigator in July 1999. He was promoted to professor in 2013 and served as chair of VAI’s Department of Cell Biology from 2010 to 2022. In 2022, he was appointed director of VAI’s Core Technologies and Services, which provides leading-edge shared scientific resources to bolster research at the Institute and beyond.
Biography
Dr. Winn earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Van Andel Institute (VAI) before joining the VAI Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core in 2013. Winn’s research focused, in part, on the translation of genomics to the clinic through the development of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of disease. During her tenure as Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core Manager, Dr. Winn brought together a strong team of scientists dedicated to supporting exceptional science through robust experimental design and data analysis. In 2017, she moved into and led the development of the Office of the Cores as Program Evaluation and Coordination Manager. Now serving as Associate Director, Dr. Winn continues to oversee initiatives involving strategic planning, review and evaluation, funding, education, community engagement, communication, and marketing across all VAI Core Technologies and Services. She is a lecturer in Van Andel Institute Graduate School, an active member of the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) and the Midwest Association of Core Directors (MWACD), and an ardent supporter of equity and inclusion in science. She currently serves as co-chair of the ABRF Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council; is a member of the Grand Rapids Public School’s Innovation Central High School Academy of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math advisory council; and as a VAI SafeZone facilitator.
Biography
Lori Moon joined Van Andel Institute in 2012 after earning an Executive MBA from Davenport University. She has more than 30 years of experience in high-level administrative support, and manages an array of day-to-day front office responsibilities across the Institute’s Cores, including billing, reporting and CrossLab.
Biography
As director of VAI’s Genomics Core, Marie Adams is an expert in the latest next-generation sequencing techniques. After earning an M.S. in genetics from Iowa State University, she served as a research assistant in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where she evaluated novel small-molecular inhibitors as potential cancer therapies. She then moved to University of Wisconsin Biotechnology Center as the research lead and next-generation sequencing core manager for the DNA Sequencing Facility. Marie joined VAI in September 2016. She served as past president (2023–2024) of the Association of Biomolecular Research Facilities (ABRF).
Biography
Scott Bechaz is an accomplished leader and expert in the laboratory animal research and management field with more than 30 years of experience. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Biology from Ferris State University, certified Laboratory Animal Technologist (LATG) and is a graduate of the Institute of Laboratory Animal Managers (ILAM). Prior to becoming director of VAI’s Vivarium in 2022, he held key leadership positions at University of Michigan, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Harvard University, and the Broad Institute, among others.
Biography
Dr. Corinne Esquibel earned a B.S. in biology from Truman State University followed by a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular pharmacology from University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied circuit-level neuroscience using optical imaging methods. She then joined the Laboratory for Optical and Computational Instrumentation (LOCI) at University of Wisconsin as a postdoctoral researcher under the mentorship of Kevin W. Eliceiri. In addition to designing and implementing intravital, in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro imaging studies for a range of research applications, Corinne focused a significant portion of her training on the effective management of microscopy core facilities. In 2017, she joined Van Andel Institute as manager of its Optical Imaging Core, which provides comprehensive imaging services to investigators at the VAI and their collaborators.
Biography
Dr. Scott Givan is an informatics expert with more than two decades of experience analyzing, summarizing and visualizing large, multidimensional biological datasets and managing informatics cores and high-performance computing infrastructures.
He earned his Ph.D. in biology from University of Oregon, and subsequently served in a number of informatics management and faculty roles. Prior to joining Van Andel Institute in 2019 as director of its Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core, he was the associate director of the Informatics Research Core Facility at University of Missouri. While there, he served as co-PI or co-investigator on grants that supported research into GABA receptor expression, anti-human papilloma virus drug-DNA interactions and the genetic relationship between plant morphology and seed amino acid characteristics. He also participated in numerous projects dealing with metagenomics, microbiomics, genome assembly and annotation and transcriptomics.
His work has been published in numerous high-impact journals, including Science, Nature, Genome Biology and Nucleic Acids Research.
Biography
Tristan Kempston has more than a decade of experience developing and leading gene targeting projects. He earned his B.A. in biology (magna cum laude) from Grand Valley State University and later trained with Dr. Thom Saunders at University of Michigan. Tristan joined the Transgenic team at Van Andel Institute in 2010, where he advised clients on optimal gene targeting strategies and designed projects to facilitate leading-edge research. He was a key collaborator in VAI’s first CRISPR experiments in 2014 and, in 2017, Tristan helped launch a CRISPR design service to labs across the Institute. In 2022, VAI transitioned the Transgenic Core and Vivarium into two separate but collaborative groups to better support research. Tristan was promoted to director of the Transgenic Core, and leads an exceptional team with deep expertise in gene targeting, CRISPR and many other crucial services.
Biography
Dr. Hostetter received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. He is board certified in pathology and his research throughout the past 15 years has focused on colorectal cancer and spans a range of genomic and protein-based assays for molecular characterization of clinical samples. He was a staff pathologist at TGen from 2003 to 2011 and directed the Tissue Microarray (TMA) service center and pathology services. He supports basic science research through the validation of candidate biomarkers using a range of clinical derived materials, including cell lines, fresh frozen or paraffin tissues. His laboratory also qualified clinical samples for downstream DNA, RNA species and protein applications.
Biography
Dan Rohrer is a leader in biorepository operations and management with more than two decades of experience.
He was appointed as Director of Van Andel Institute’s Pathology and Biorepository Core in 2023, and helms a world-class team with deep expertise in biospecimen science, histology, pathology, molecular processing and quality assurance. He is responsible for maintaining the Core’s high standards, which led to its accreditation by the College of American Pathologists in 2012. The Core also serves as a biobank for many federal and foundational projects including the Cancer MoonshotSM and the National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium.
Dan earned a B.S. in biology from Bob Jones University and an MBA from The Ohio State University. Prior to joining VAI’s Pathology and Biorepository Core as Director of Operations in 2010, he served in numerous roles at OSU, including Anatomic Pathology Technologist, Coordinator for the Cancer and Leukemia Group B’s Pathology Coordinating Office, and Biobank Manager of the AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource. During his time at OSU, he gained invaluable experience at the lab bench and in biobank operations.
Dan is an executive board member of the Great Lakes Biorepository Research Network and a member of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories and the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities. He also serves as a peer review program inspector for the College of American Pathologists’ Biorepository Accreditation Program.
Biography
Dr. Ryan Sheldon leads Van Andel Institute’s Mass Spectrometry Core, which boasts a top-tier mass spec infrastructure. Dr. Sheldon earned a B.A. in health and fitness and an M.S. in health and kinesiology from Purdue University, followed by a Ph.D. in exercise physiology from University of Missouri. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Biochemistry in the lab of Dr. Eric B. Taylor at University of Iowa before joining VAI in 2019 as a research scientist in the Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming. Dr. Sheldon was instrumental in establishing and building VAI’s metabolomics platforms. In 2020, he led the transition of the platform into VAI’s Core Technologies and Services as the Metabolomics and Bioenergetics Core, where he served as core manager. He continued to further expand the Core’s offerings and, in 2022, he led the build-out of the Core’s mass spec capabilities, resulting in a state-of-the-art service portfolio that supports innovative research at VAI and beyond. Now named the Mass Spectrometry Core, this extensive suite of technologies and expertise continues to expand its offerings under Dr. Sheldon’s leadership, with proteomic services slated to go live in 2023.
Biography
Rachael Sheridan earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and holds a professional cytometry certification (SCYM(ASCP)CM). She has extensive experience with experimental design, panel design and optimization, high-speed cell sorting, and training of researchers. She is active in the flow cytometry community contributing to both regional and global cytometry initiatives. Prior to joining Van Andel Institute in October 2016, she was an instrumentation specialist in the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center Flow Cytometry Laboratory.
Biography
Gongpu Zhao, Ph.D., joined Van Andel Institute in 2016 as manager of the Cryo-EM Core. He came to Grand Rapids from a postdoctoral fellowship in the Peijun Zhang Laboratory at University of Pittsburgh where, in 2013, he was part of the team that uncovered the structure of the HIV-1 virus’s capsid, the outer “shell” of the virus. Prior to joining the Zhang Laboratory, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the labs of Michael Treacy, Ph.D., and Peter Buseck, Ph.D., at Arizona State University. He earned his Ph.D. in physics in Dr. Lu-chang Qin’s lab from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I acknowledge VAI’s Core Technologies and Services’ contributions in my manuscript?
All work performed by VAI’s Core Technologies and Services should be acknowledged or considered for co-authorship in scholarly reports, presentations, posters, papers and all other publications. Proper acknowledgment allows us to obtain financial and other support that enables us to provide and maintain high-quality support and services. By acknowledging shared resource facilities and instrumentation in publications, presentations and other research communications, you play a critical role in ensuring their continued availability and future development.
Example acknowledgments:
- We thank the Van Andel Institute [core name] (RRID:[insert core RRID]), especially [staff name], for their assistance with [technique/technology].
- This research was supported in part by the Van Andel Institute [core name] (Grand Rapids, MI) (RRID:[insert core RRID]).
| Core | RRID |
|---|---|
| Bioinformatics and Biostatistics | RRID:SCR_024762 |
| Cryo-EM | RRID:SCR_023210 |
| Flow Cytometry | RRID:SCR_022685 |
| Genomics | RRID:SCR_022913 |
| Mass Spectrometry | RRID:SCR_024903 |
| Optical Imaging | RRID:SCR_021968 |
| Pathology and Biorepository | RRID:SCR_022912 |
| Transgenic | RRID:SCR_022914 |
| Vivarium | RRID:SCR_023211 |
Discover more information on RRIDs ➔
How do I request services?
VAI’s Core Technologies and Services manages service requests through CrossLab Solutions. Each Core maintains a CrossLab page that provides descriptions of the Core as well as options to schedule equipment and request services. Pricing also is available in CrossLab (See Schedule Equipment and/or Request Services). Current CrossLab users can log in here.
VAI staff that need a login (or further CrossLab support) should contact Lori Moon. MSU and external users that need a CrossLab account/login should go here for account creation. After logging in, external users should click “list all cores” under the Core Facilities section in the left menu and scroll down to “Cores at Van Andel Institute.”