Cooperative Human Tissue Network

Livolsi, Virginia

Abstract

The National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) will collaborate with the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), and its Cancer Center to establish and operate a human malignant and non-malignant tissue collection site in Philadelphia, PA, as one of three such sites in the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) cooperative human tissue network. HUP's Division of Surgical pathology will provide the principal investigator for the project who will guarantee the integrity of diagnosis and viability of specimens collected at both HUP and other hospitals from NDRI's established network or tissue procurement sources. The Division of Surgical Oncology at HUP and the University Cancer Center will provide surgical expertise in the excising of tissue specimens at HUP, and will serve as senior medical advisors to the project. The NDRI, through the development of a national prototype for tissue collection, preservation and delivery successfully serving the research community for half a decade, will establish the procurement sources for the NCI network and use staff expertise to develop individualized scientific protocols for the preservation and delivery of at least 5400 specimens in Year I (with vastly increasing numbers in Years II and III) to investigators participating in the NCI network. Additionally, NDRI will provide the scientific committee structure to ensure peer review of research applications and feasibility of each research request. NDRI proposes to serve as the coordination center for the NCI network, with primary responsibility for maintenance of the computer data base on tissue procurement, the research application and review process, and the methodology for encouraging increasing levels of researcher participation in the NCI network.