Welcome to the GVVC - Gene Vector and Virus Core
FY2025 rates are valid through August 31, 2025.
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Viruses Produced
Adeno-associated viruses
Lentiviruses
Retroviruses |
Overview of Services
- The Gene Vector and Virus Core (GVVC) is an academic service center and one of the six Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Community Labs at Stanford University.
- GVVC accelerates biological research by generating and distributing robust and reliable viral genetic tools both within Stanford as well as to the broader research community.
- GVVC benefits the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute’s overall mission by preventing the duplication of efforts by Stanford faculty and thus greatly increasing the efficiency of all of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute’s programs.
Stock Viruses
- GVVC maintains over 300 viral vectors encoding useful viral genetic technologies on hand for immediate distribution.
- GVVC is proud to showcase Stanford's track record of innovation by distributing a wide variety of molecular genetic technologies developed by Stanford scientists.
- GVVC is a neuroscience-focused core, so many of the stock technologies are most applicable in neural systems, but GVVC also stocks a wide variety of tools useful to biological research more generally.
- GVVC can distribute stock viruses in any quantity (charged per microliter).
- This flexibility makes the stock virus distribution stream optimized for quick pilot experiments and testing of many variants in order to optimize research protocols early in project development.
- GVVC is always looking to improve service offerings to the academic research community, so if you have any recommendations for tools not currently in stock, or have personally developed novel genetic technologies that you would like to see distributed through GVVC, please feel free to reach out to the GVVC Director with your request!
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Getting Started - Account Setup
- Stanford Users: LOGIN or REGISTER for an iLab account using valid Stanford credentials (SUNet ID).
To request any service from our core, please read and follow the instructions in the forms below:
iLab Ordering Instructions for Stanford Users
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External users:
- Please place an order request to receive a formal quote!
- Fill out all required custom form fields but you can leave PO# blank.
iLab Setup and Ordering Instructions for External Users
Before Beginning a Project
Researchers are strongly encouraged to contact and interact with the Gene Vector and Virus Core as early in a project as possible. Many of the projects that fail are a result of mistakes (usually in vector design or characterization) that could be avoided if the virus core was consulted at an early stage. The virus core does not charge for advice or consultations.
GVVC users should always perform the following procedures prior to ordering recombinant viruses:
- Obtain institutional approval to use recombinant viruses.
- Choose virus.
- Design vector.
- Construct vector.
- Characterize vector.
- Produce plasmid vector.
- Provide virus core with predicted sequence of vector.
- Decide how much virus to produce at what purity level.
Upon receipt of virus from GVVC:
- Store virus properly*.
- Use virus properly*.
- Dispose of unused virus properly*.
* In a manner compliant with your lab's institutionally approved protocol(s), in addition to adherence to federal, state, and/or local regulations.
Use and (disposal) of recombinant viruses is governed by specific institutional guidelines that are often based on the CDC/NIH (biosafety level/BSL) guidelines for their use. At Stanford, researchers must obtain approval to use recombinant viruses by submitting an application to the APB (Administrative Panel for Biosafety). The virus core is required to obtain approved copies of APB applications before it can produce viruses for Stanford customers. See
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/EHS/prod/researchlab/bio/index.html or
eProtocol.
Remake Policy
- GVVC does not guarantee any particular outcome or titer (functional or genomic) for custom viral preparations.
- GVVC is here to work with you to ensure that you're able to achieve your experimental goals.
- If a viral vector prepared by GVVC does not perform as expected, please schedule a consult with GVVC Director Nicholas Wall (nrwall@stanford.edu) to discuss and interpret next steps.
- GVVC reserves sole discretion on whether to offer a single remake at no additional charge.
- Custom AAV preparations ordered at the 1 flask scale do not qualify for remakes.
- GVVC may recommend or require adjustments to the user-supplied transfer plasmid as a condition for remake.
Leadership
Nicholas Wall, Ph.D. | Director
Office: S081
Phone: 650-723-0588
Email: neuro_gvvc@stanford.edu
Location and Hours of Operation
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Location
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Hours
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Gene Vector and Virus Core, Stanford University
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
290 Jane Stanford Way, Room S078
Stanford CA 94305
Mailing Address
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
290 Jane Stanford Way
M/C 5088
Stanford CA 94305
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8:00 a.m. - 5 p.m. Pacific time, Monday to Friday
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Links and Resources
- Working with viral vectors: MSDS
Publication Acknowledgement
Please acknowledge GVVC as the Stanford Gene Vector and Virus Core (RRID:SCR_023250). Stock viruses may be referenced by their name and GVVC ID (ie GVVC-AAV-123) in resource tables. If GVVC staff provide significant experimental design, data interpretation, or other intellectual contribution, co-authorship in accordance with professional norms for publication credit is expected.
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