Tulane Cancer Center Organoid Core

Overview of Services

The long-term goal of the Tulane Cancer Center Organoid Core is to generate patient derived organoids of solid tumors, including breast, lung, pancreatic, gynecological, GI, and prostate cancer as novel preclinical translational platforms for investigators to advance their research. The Core is working to create a library of patient-derived organoids (PDOs) which are a novel tool for modeling cancer and are powerful for use in drug screening and cancer biology. The Core is located on the third floor of the J. Bennett Johnston Building (JBJ) in New Orleans, Louisiana. Staff are available in-person or by email to assist with organoid and equipment services. Organoid Core staff consists of a multidisciplinary group of scientists with strong backgrounds in cancer biology and bioengineering, including Matthew Burow and Tiffany Seagroves (Co-Directors), Elizabeth Martin and Hilaire Smith (Scientific Directors), Van Barnes (Scientific Advisor), Jorge Belgodere (Scientific Consultant and Dean of Happiness) and Delia Carlino (staff). 

Currently, the Core is focused on assisting investigators who have already created their own pre-clinical models, or who require assistance using organoid models obtained through other sources to characterize their samples using the shared resources offered by the Core.

As of July 1, 2025, the Core is available to assist with 2-D high-throughput screening and 3-D spheroid or organoid screening by live-cell imaging (Incucyte SX5). In collaboration with Dr. Seagroves, bio-imaging of pre-clinical, immunocompromised animal models is offered using the IVIS Lumina III (Revvity) instrument.

Organoid Core Leadership

Matthew Burow, PhD Tiffany N. Seagroves, PhD	Co-Director Co-Director
Elizabeth Martin, PhD Van Barnes, PhD Hilaire Smith	Scientific Director Scientific Director Scientific Director

Incucyte SX5 Contacts

Hilaire Smith, PhD	Instructor, Dept. of Medicine
Tiffany N. Seagroves, PhD	Professor, Dept. of Medicine

Check out Sartorius' YouTube channel for helpful how-to videos and to see what the Sx5 can do.

Filter Sets available, Incucyte SX5

Optical Module	Channel	Excitation (nm)	Emission (nm)
G/O/NIR	Green	453-485	494-533
	Orange	546-568	576-639
	Near IR	648-674	685-756
G/R (DEFAULT)	Green	441-481	503-544
	Red	567-607	622-704

Link to download Incucyte SX5 instrument use and SOP policies:

IVIS Lumina III Bioimaging Contacts

Raisa (Raya) Krutilina, PhD	Senior Staff Scientist, Dept. of Medicine
Tiffany N. Seagroves, PhD	Professor, Dept. of Medicine

Link to download IVIS Lumina III bio-imager use and SOP policies: 

 

Core Location and hours of operation

Hours (CT)	Location
Monday - Friday 8AM - 5PM	1324 Tulane Ave New Orleans, LA. 70112

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contacts

Name	Role	Phone	Email	Location
Matthew Burow	Co-Director		mburow@tulane.edu	JBJ 315
Tiffany Seagroves	Co-Director, Incucyte SX5 and animal bioimaging contact		tseagroves@tulane.edu	JBJ 315
Elizabeth Martin	Scientific Director		emartin1@tulane.edu	JBJ 315
Van Barnes	Scientific Director		vbarnes2@tulane.edu	JBJ 315
Hilaire Smith	Incucyte SX5 manager		hsmith22@tulane.edu	JBJ 315
Raisa (Raya) Krutilina	Animal bio-imaging manager		rkrutilina@tulane.edu	JBJ 315
Delia Carlino	Research Staff		dcarlino@tulane.edu	JBJ 315

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