The Colorado Anschutz Research Genetics Organization

The Colorado Anschutz Research Genetics Organization (CARGO) is a service center composed of a Biorepository, DNA/RNA services, Genotyping, and Data Analysis. The service center and data analysis team work together in efforts to assist researcher in molecular biology. It is our mission to offer high quality, economical, reproducible research services to the scientific community at University of Colorado.

Principal Investigator: Dr. Kathleen Barnes, PhD

Dr. Barnes received her Ph.D. in biomedical anthropology with a concentration in immunology, environmental epidemiology, and medical entomology. She began her fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Asthma and Allergy Center in 1993. Her work focuses on the genetic basis for acute and chronic airway disease and is based on family-based and independent clinical populations largely of African descent, recruited both locally and from various locales in the Caribbean and South America. Dr. Barnes has been principal investigator of the Bayview Genetics and Genomics Research Cores from 2005-2015, and the Colorado Genetics Research Facility since 2015. 

Laboratory Manager: Monica Campbell, MS

Monica Campbell graduated from the University of Baltimore with a concentration in Biotechnology and Forensic Science. She attended the University of Maryland for graduate studies and obtained an MS degree in Biotechnology Management and Project Management. Monica has worked as a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University for 15 years, first with the Genetic Core Research Facility (GCRF) in fragment analysis, and in Clinical Immunology at the Bayview Genetics Research Facility (BGRF). Monica also has experience in Forensics at the Baltimore City Police Department focusing on crime scene investigation and DNA serology. In 2015, she obtained a position at the University of Colorado in the Department of Bioinformatics and Personalized Medicine. Her current position entails leading the CARGO service center and the Barnes laboratory, which focuses on gene environmental interactions and the interface of innate and adaptive immunity in the immunogenetics of various complex lung diseases such as asthma, atopic dermatitis and schistosomiasis.

Laboratory Technician: Timothy Porfilio, BS

Timothy Porifilio is a Professional Research Assistant for in the Barnes/CARGO facility. Timothy received a Biology degree from the University of Colorado Denver in 2018, and will continue with a PhD in Cancer Biology. He has worked in the laboratory since 2017 where his primary focus is in mid and high throughput genotyping, and next generation sequencing.

Laboratory Technician: Yingfei Zhen, MS

Yingfei Zhen, MS is a Professional Research Assistant in CARGO who is originally from China. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from University of Colorado (Denver), and a Master’s degree in Health Care Administration. She is skilled in various molecular biology lab techniques and procedures such as extraction, SNP genotyping, and high-throughput Infinium genotyping technologies.

Laboratory Technician: Noah Boudrie, BS

Noah Boudrie, BS is a Professional Research Assistant (PRA) in CARGO with experience in genotyping and methylation on the Illumina platform, as well as computer training. Mr. Boudrie completed his BS in Biomedical Science at Grand Valley State University. He is responsible for all types of nucleic acid extraction, and fluid handling. He works closely with the team to ensure quality control.