BBRB Biobanking and Biospecimen Science Research
Biobanking and Biospecimen Science Research
The availability of cancer biospecimens is critical for breakthroughs in cancer research and treatment. It is very important that the procedures used to collect, process and store biospecimens are performed in the best ways possible, in order to ensure that the biospecimens used in research are of the best possible quality.
BBRB directs and manages research initiatives to better understand how biospecimens should be optimally handled for diagnostics and research.
BBRB's research programs include the following:
Biospecimen Science programs to develop the scientific knowledge for how to best collect and utilize the biospecimens needed for cancer research, precision medicine and diagnostics.
Resources to support biospecimen science and biobanking research, including the Biospecimen Research Database (BRD) and the Biospecimen Evidence-Based best Practices (BEBPs).
Access to high-quality biospecimens, data and procedures from the Cancer Moonshot Biobank and the NIH Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project.
Funding opportunities to support Biospecimen Science in clinical trials: Integrating Biospecimen Science Approaches into Clinical Assay Development (U01)
Attitudes of Family Decision Makers in GTEx
The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund, has collected and analyzed donated normal human biospecimens from deceased donors to form a resource database and tissue bank aimed at helping researchers better understand the relationship between human genetic variation and inherited susceptibility to disease. As part of the project, BBRB facilitated several studies looking at different aspects of the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of GTEx. The ELSI studies included interviews with family decision makers who had been approached to donate their loved one's tissues, to assess the effectiveness of the consent process in informing the donor families of the potential impacts of participating in the study. Community Advisory Boards were also created to get community input into various issues including the development of improved consenting processes. For more information on GTEx and GTEx ELSI-related studies, please explore the links below.
Genotype-Tissue Expression Project
Selected GTEx ELSI-related publications:
Comments or questions? Email us! ncibbrb@nih.gov