TISSUE MODELING CORE The long-term goal of the Tissue Modeling Core (TMC) is to provide a growing archive of fixed and living tissues, DNA, and RNA for sequencing that will support the Florida-California CaRE2 Health Equity Center?s mission. The TMC will develop a robust, well-annotated biorepository of tissue samples from a racially and ethnically diverse Florida and California patient population and make them available to the CaRE2 Center investigators. The short-term goals of the TMC are to provide the necessary tissue samples for the three projects while preparing for the future needs of the existing and upcoming CaRE2 projects. The TMC will address the challenge of recruiting Blacks and Latinos in medical research and the limited supply of quality biospecimens and genomic data for these populations. The TMC Specific Aims are to:
Aim 1. Develop a virtual repository that will provide access to biospecimens from diverse tumor repositories through a single access point provided by the CaRE2 Center. Many cancer types have been linked to outcome disparities, with the causes of disparities including genetics, access to care, comorbidities, and lifestyle.
Aim 1 A: Tissue and biomaterials collection. The established tissue-modeling repository will comprise: (1) the UF CTSI tissue repositories; and (2) the USC Residual Tissue Repository linked to the California Cancer Registry and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center/Los Angeles County Medical Center patient samples. The immediate tasks of the TMC include: (1) Full Project 1: provision of tissue, plasma, serum, and RNA needed for evaluation of mitochondrial peptidomics and transcriptomics of prostate cancer; (2) Full Project 2: provision of tissue and RNA of pancreatic cancers to understand gemcitabine efficacy in pancreatic cancer; and (3) Pilot Project 3: provision of normal pancreas tissues and sequencing for understanding pancreatic cancer development.
Aim 1 B: Infrastructure transfer to FAMU. The TMC will also seek to expand the FAMU infrastructure for fixed and living tissues. It will leverage that growth using the cooperating CTSIs, Cancer Centers, and the OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium.
Aim 2. Living tissue and living tumor tissue acquisition. The immediate tasks of the TMC include: (1) Full Project 2: provision of pancreatic cancer PDXs and paired cell lines for 2D and 3D modeling; and (2) Pilot Project 3: provision of normal living pancreas tissues from patients undergoing pancreatic surgery for benign disease. By achieving these Specific Aims, the TMC will: (1) enhance cancer disparities science in the important areas of tissue-modeling research; (2) efficiently expand cancer disparities resources for CaRE2 researchers by leveraging the expertise, services, and facilities in Florida and California, and (3) ensure a sustained focus on transferring know-how, technology, and collaborations with FAMU.
