Biorepository Core
The mission of the Biorepository Core is to collect, process, and store well-characterized biospecimens from solid organ and stem cell transplant patients for scientific studies. It also provides investigators with high quality and well-annotated specimens for biomarker discovery and validation. It is the central CTC resource for high quality specimen processing and storage to facilitate translational and clinical research projects.
Services
The Biorepository Core provides the following services to the investigators of the CTC as well as other investigators:
- Timely processing of biospecimens with protocols that guarantee the integrity of samples for future studies, including extraction of DNA, mRNA, and proteins.
- Processing and preservation methods that offer specimens with high analytical performance and reproducibility.
- 24/7 monitoring of storage with continuous temperature recording
- De-identification of clinical specimens to guarantee privacy and an efficient barcoding system to track the life history of the specimens.
- An efficient inventory system that offers a rapid query and retrieval of requested specimens.
- Collection of frozen plasma, serum, whole blood, white blood cells, urine or urine pellet linked to clinical outcomes and other relevant clinical data.
The Biorepository offers the advantages of a powerful and secure web-based database system (FreezerPro) that allows the secure storage and rapid retrieval of specimens. The Biorepository is also in the process of developing an automated interface to allow data from FreezerPro to interface with the Northwestern University Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW). This will allow investigators working under IRB-approved protocols to query for specimen availability based on relevant clinical factors from the EMR. In addition, it will be linked to the Aperio digital pathology platform at NUCTC which will enables pathologists in an efficient integrated clinical workflow to read immunohistochemistry (IHC) slides on a computer monitor, perform quantitative image analysis, and generate professional reports.
Starting a Project
To discuss starting a transplant related project using the Biorepository Core, please contact David Pinelli, PhD, F(ACHI)
David Pinelli, PhD, F(ACHI)
Director, Clinical Research Laboratory and Biorepository
Assistant Director, Transplant Immunology Laboratory david.pinelli@northwestern.edu