Offerings
What We Offer
The TCE-MPS provides a comprehensive portfolio of resources, programs, and services designed to support MPS researchers at Tulane and connect them with a broader national community of scientists, clinicians, and industry partners.
Community & Education Programs
The TCE-MPS hosts a regular seminar series featuring on- and off-campus speakers presenting on the full spectrum of MPS research and commercialization — from basic science and clinical translation to new technologies, data standardization, patenting, and regulatory affairs. Seminars are held in partnership with SSE and SOM departments and rotate between uptown and downtown Tulane campuses, as well as virtual formats, to maximize accessibility for all Center members.
Interdisciplinary working groups convene Tulane researchers from MPS and adjacent fields to tackle specific, pressing challenges in the MPS landscape. Current working groups address topics including:
• Developing new on-chip and whole-chip readout technologies
• Standardizing MPS data collection and reporting practices
• Comparing MPS to intact tissue systems
• Establishing novel non-human MPS model systems
• Accelerating MPS adoption and commercialization
Working groups are expected to generate collaborative projects, publications, and grant applications.
Each year, the TCE-MPS hosts a regional scientific symposium highlighting MPS research across the Gulf Coast states and bringing together academic and industry scientists from around the region. Our long-term goal is to grow this event into a leading national MPS symposium that establishes New Orleans as a hub for MPS discovery and innovation.
The TCE-MPS is committed to training the next generation of MPS researchers. We offer workshops on scientific writing, research ethics, project management, and small business startup. Datablitz events showcase trainee research and promote collaboration across the Center. We partner with the Tulane Bioinnovation Graduate Program to connect graduate students with MPS faculty mentors, and we are building toward a federally supported T32 interdisciplinary MPS training program.
Research Funding
Seed Research Awards
To catalyze new research and support collection of preliminary data for extramural grant applications, the TCE-MPS awards competitive research funding annually:
- Two 3-year project awards of $25,000 per year each — supporting substantial preliminary and pilot studies in MPS model development
- One 1-year pilot project award of $10,000 — supporting early-stage exploratory MPS projects
Awards are open to TCE-MPS members through a peer-reviewed application process. Current funded projects include development of an HHT-on-a-chip vascular malformation model, engrafted human kidney organoid models for hypertensive kidney disease, and low-field MRI as a non-invasive MPS monitoring tool.
Core Facilities & Shared Resources
The TCE-MPS is establishing the first dedicated induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) Core at Tulane — a transformative shared resource that will support personalized medicine research across MPS and non-MPS contexts. The iPSC Core provides:
• iPSC generation from patient tissue samples — enabling disease-specific and patient-specific cell line development
• iPSC validation and quality characterization
• Custom gene editing services — supporting precise genetic modeling of disease variants
• Biobanked cell line access — available for purchase by Tulane and non-Tulane researchers
The iPSC Core is staffed by a full-time expert technician and equipped with dedicated cell culture and in-hood microscopy infrastructure. Services are offered at reduced rates for Tulane researchers and at competitive rates for external academic and commercial collaborators.
Service | Estimated Commercial Rate | Tulane Researchers | Non-Tulane Researchers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cell Line Purchase | $10,000 | $5,000 | $7,500 |
| iPSC Generation | $30,000 | $10,000 | $15,000 |
| iPSC Validation | $10,000 | $5,000 | $7,500 |
| Custom Gene Editing | $50,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
TCE-MPS members have access to a network of established Tulane shared research infrastructure, including:
• Aging Integrated Research Cores
• Micro/Nanofabrication Core (recently upgraded cleanroom facilities)
• Imaging Core
• Tulane Innovation Institute — supporting technology transfer, IP development, and startup formation
• Tulane Clinical Research Center — source of patient tissue samples for iPSC generation
