Impact of Microbial Contamination and Misidentified Cell Cultures on Research
Tuesday, March 09, 2010, 12:00 PM Eastern Time (ET)

Animal cell lines are important in vitro systems and tools for scientists in diverse disciplines beyond basic cell biology. Cell line authentication and characterization are crucial in these fields, yet they are underappreciated by most research scientists.  Over the years numerous cell lines have been shown to be misidentified due, in part, to poor techniques, inadequate authentication protocols and sharing of unauthenticated cell lines amongst researchers. Technological advances have given rise to improved capabilities. Cell line authentication and characterization now require a comprehensive strategy that employs several complementary technologies for systematic testing for morphology, microbial contaminations, cellular cross-contamination as well as functionality. The validity of conclusions drawn from research data is dependent on consistent and unequivocal verification of cell line identity and function. It is estimated that the financial loss incurred by poorly characterized or misidentified cell lines is in the millions of dollars.  An overview of the current technologies used to authenticate and characterize animal cell lines will be presented.

Speaker: Yvonne Reid, Ph.D.

Dr. Reid's research focuses on the use of DNA hypervariable probes for the intraspecies identification of cell lines. The evolution of this work has led to the implementation of routine screening of all human cell lines by STR analysis. She currently co-chairs the ATCC Standards Development Organization committee on the Development of a Consensus Standard for the Authentication of Human Cell Lines:  Standardization of STR profiling.  Dr. Reid has more than 29 years of experience in cell biology, immunology and molecular biology. As Collection Scientist for the Cell Biology Program, she is responsible for acquisition of new animal cell lines and hybridomas into the Cell Biology General Collection. Dr. Reid has authored over 23 peer-reviewed publications and has served on more than a dozen scientific committees, including serving as an ad hoc member of the Comparative Medicine Review Committee, National Center for Research Resources (NIH); Chairperson, of ad hoc advisory member for the National Cell Culture Center, Minneapolis, MN and Member of the 2005-2010 USP Fetal Bovine Serum ad hoc Advisory Panel. In addition, Dr. Reid has served as principal investigator on six government and nongovernment contracts. She has been invited to speak, convene and/or chair sessions at several cell biology conferences (including the Bioanalysis Thinkshop sponsored by the NIST and IRMM, Geel, Belgium and Faculty member for a cell culture training course sponsored by UNESCO, Beijing, China.)

We hope you will join us for this exclusive event.