Biospecimen Processing and Biorepository

For the current fiscal year, the BPC provides support to over 130 clinical trials and receives and processes over 50,000 biological samples including blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, pleural effusion aspirate, ascites, saliva, and bone marrow aspirate. This Core is responsible for the management and repository of samples from the CCR clinics. Upon arrival, all samples are processed according to the clinical protocol (per standard operating procedures), barcoded and entered into a database for sample handling and storage purposes and cataloged into a software system. The BPC handles urgent same-day and routine sample shipments to both intramural and extramural laboratories. The BPC provides a broad range of services including the development and validation of procedures for specimen processing, analyses, and DNA extraction to establish protocols that optimize specimen integrity and consistency. In addition to laboratory services, the Core serves as a resource for clinicians seeking advice on study design including specimen collection and storage methods as well as all protocol-associated study worksheets related to data and sample collection. The BPC provides services related to sample processing, barcoding, and storage of pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) biospecimens for all trials. Staff provides support to clinical teams throughout the life cycle of their protocols including assistance with ensuring time-sensitive samples are collected appropriately and with provision of sample data and shipment logs. During the pandemic, the BPC provided support and remains involved in processing research bloods for COVID-19 clinical protocols.