Services

Investigators at Rush have been archiving biospecimens (surplus tumor/tissue from surgeries, serum, plasma, plasma buffy coat) to support its thoracic oncology research program since 2004. Standardized biobanking protocols consistent with recommendations provided in the NCI Best Practices for Biospecimen Resources (published by the Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research at the National Cancer Institute) have been employed from the beginning. The leadership of the RCCB regularly attends scientific meetings and seminars focused on biobanking sciences to ensure that the latest advances are integrated into its standard practices.

The RCCB invites all groups at Rush interested in biobanking specimens for either current or planned research projects to engage as early as possible in the project for a no-cost preliminary consultation. In this meeting, we will identify the key components to assemble a validation set or to form a new collection effort, including the types of biospecimens desired, optimal protocols for processing and archiving biospecimens based on anticipated analyses, the scope of collection, and relevant regulatory issues. A quote is developed from this meeting that will permit the collection effort to commence in a timely manner and will include any additional infrastructure that may be needed to support patient recruitment, biospecimen collection, annotation, processing, and long-term cryopreservation.  

Investigators at Rush can also partner with the RCCB to access biospecimens already collected as part of our ongoing initiatives. We will provide guidance to help these investigators determine the suitability of existing collections of patient materials for their studies. Please contact us concerning this process and the anticipated cost structure for accessing desired resources.