The Tissue Culture & Biobanking Shared Resource (TCBSR) is an integral part of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) research activities. The Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) has provided funding to the TCBSR since 1993. The TCBSR provides services to support LCCC investigators with the tissue culture-related aspects of their work. It also offers services that enable biobanking of blood and other biofluid specimens obtained from subjects enrolled in various LCCC studies. The TCBSR provides services, facilities and consultation to a diverse group of investigators involved in cancer research. The tissue culture services available are as follows: 1) cell culture and cell banking; 2) conditional reprogramming of cells to establish primary epithelial cell cultures from normal and cancer tissues; 3) transforming B-cells with Epstein- Barr virus (EBV) service to facilitate cancer genetics studies; 4) maintaining the LCCC repository of established cell lines; 5) performing quality control tests for cell lines, including cell line authentication and mycoplasma testing services; 6) providing a safe and secure cryostorage facility for investigators to keep frozen stocks of their cancer cell lines; 7) testing and supplying tissue culture reagents of the highest quality that have been tested for suitability in the relevant systems, as inexpensively as possible; and 8) equipping, monitoring and stocking four separate shared tissue culture laboratories for use by LCCC investigators. The TCBSR is also responsible for biobanking blood and other biofluid specimens. These services include the processing of specimens (e.g., preparing aliquots of serum, plasma, buffy coat and peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMCs]), banking the specimens and disbursing as needed. Bassem R. Haddad, MD, has served as the director of the TCBSR since January 2002. The TCBSR continues to be heavily used by a large number of LCCC investigators. Of 63 users in fiscal year (FY) 2017, 45 were members from all four LCCC Programs (Breast Cancer [BC], Cancer Prevention and Control [CPC], Experimental Therapeutics [ET], and Molecular Oncology [MO]), and 29 of these had peer- reviewed grants. In addition, the TCBSR provides laboratory support to six other Shared Resources.
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