About Division of Core Laboratory Services and Response

Our mission

DCLSR's mission is to provide support to CDC laboratories in responding to public health needs through the supply of state-of-the art technology and high-quality services and products.

Priorities

• Provide genomic sequencing, proteomics technologies, oligonucleotide and peptide synthesis, and bioinformatic support to aid the identification and characterization of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other pathogens
• Provide CDC laboratorians with high-quality laboratory products and services in compliance with US Food and Drug Administration regulations.
• Distribute investigational and licensed drugs and unique biologicals (antitoxins) to approved physicians for treatment of rare, tropical, or exceptional diseases.
• Provide accessioning services for specimens sent to CDC for reference and diagnostic testing and manage shipment of outgoing specimens, microbiologic organisms, and biologicals.
• Provide for the expert care, husbandry, and procurement of animals used in research and training.

Our work

• Provides laboratory supplies, glassware, mammalian tissue cultures, microbiological media and buffers, oligonucleotides, peptides, custom reagents, and other laboratory materials.
• Provides services for laboratory investigators in protein and DNA synthesis and sequencing, genomic sequencing, microarrays, proteomics, molecular modeling, and bioinformatics.
• Conducts collaborative research in cell biology and tissue culture technology for application to infectious disease activities.
• Provides technical support for dispensing, lyophilizing, capping, labeling, and distribution of CDC Reference Reagents.
• Produces specialized reagents and kits and distributes them to members of the Laboratory Response Network in compliance with federal regulations.
• Provides services and expertise in development of Quality Systems to support compliance with FDA regulations for the production, distribution, and use of laboratory diagnostic reagents.
• Receives, triages, processes, and distributes specimens to CDC laboratories for reference diagnostic testing, research studies, and epidemics, and reports diagnostic test results to submitting organizations.
• Manages all CDC exports, ensures compliance with regulations and serves as CDC liaison with the Department of Commerce for export related issues.
• Provides processing services for serum and other biological specimens of epidemiological and special significance to CDC's research and diagnostic activities.
• Obtains and distributes experimental and orphaned vaccines, drugs, antisera, antitoxins, and immune globulins to physicians for use in patient therapy.
• Procures research animals and provides veterinary and husbandry services.