The purpose of the Clinical Biochemistry Facility is to provide quality- controlled analyses for clinical chemistry and biochemical epidemiology to CCSG-supported AHF scientists. The facility is staffed by a facility head, John P. Richie, Jr., Ph.D. a lab supervisor, Steven Colosimo, M.S. a clinical chemist, Tara Bonanno, B.S. and a clinical coordinator, Julie Heidbrink-Fallon, B.A. The major resources of the facility include a Johnson & Johnson Vitros 500 Mainframe Clinical Chemistry Analyzer, several portable clinical chemistry analyzers Dynatech 5000 96 well plate reader with Biolinx software, scintillation counters, HPLCs, GC, autoanalyzers and a automate hematological analyzer. The facility offers routine clinical chemistry assays and immunoassays as well as specialized biochemistry and biomarker tests using a charge-back mechanism. In addition the facility is involved in biomarker development for use in large-scale human studies. This facility provides services to all of the CCSG-supported programs as well as to non-programmatically aligned programs within AHF and at other facilities. Approximately 10-15 peer- funded investigators at AHF as well as 12-18 external scientists make use of the facility each year for a total of about 6,000 to 10,000 samples assayed per year. Over the past year, 63% of the total use of the facility was by peer-reviewed NIH-or ACS-funded projects. In the present funding cycle, we plan to expand the capabilities of the facility to include hematological analyses and human studies underway and planned within the AHFCC as well as in support of ongoing studies within the AHFCC as well as in support of ongoing studies within the Research Animal Facility. In addition, to assist in the implementation of human investigation we plan to provide expertise in clinical coordination and biological sample collection and banking. This new expertise within the AHFCC is essential for the implementation of human studies, particularly at the Naylor Dana Institute where an increasing demand is clearly evident. Of particular importance, the facility will provide assistance with confidentiality issues especially in human studies involving DNA analysis.
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