The Biospecimen Core is a vital resource that supports all brain tumor research at Northwestern, and is especially important in seeing that all projects experience clinical translation within the period of SPORE funding. Regular interactions with the Biostatistics & Bioinformatics Core and Administrative Core will ensure that each project achieves its objectives, and has positive impact on the care of brain tumor patients. The Biospecimen Core will have extensive interactions with all projects and cores by acting as the central repository of patient tissues and renewable tumor resources, by providing the highest quality of tissue analytical services, and by providing neuropathological consultation. The Director of the Core, Dr. Horbinski, as well as the Co-Director, Dr. Daniel Brat, will supervise quality control testing of banked specimens, and will perform all microscopy-based analyses of patient tissues and tumor models for each SPORE project. Biospecimen Core activities will be performed to accomplish the following aims:
Aim 1 : Provide Northwestern brain tumor researchers with annotated biospecimens from brain tumor patients.
Aim 2 : Subject all biospecimens to rigorous quality control.
Aim 3 : Propagate, bank, and characterize surgical specimen derivatives, including PDX and cancer stem cell (CSC) models, to meet ongoing needs for renewable tumor cell sources.
Aim 4 : Support SPORE projects with biospecimens and neuropathologic analyses.
BIOSPECIMEN CORE: NARRATIVE The Biospecimen Core will serve as source of patient tumor and normal tissues, and of renewable tumor cells sources (cell lines and patient derived xenografts) to meet the needs of the individual projects. The Core will also provide all tissue and tumor model analytical services that are needed to advance SPORE laboratory and clinical research.
