BIOMARKERS RESOURCE

The Biomarkers Shared Resource, jointly managed by the Cancer Center and Columbia's NIEHS Center for Envoronmental Health in Northern Manhattan provides a centralized, efficient and cost-effective resource for receiving, handling and storing human samples that are collected as part of research studies in molecular epidemiology and other types of cancer-related research. It is a joint resource of the Cancer Center and Columbia's NIEHS Center for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan. Services provided include: ¿ Preparation of kits for biospecimen collection ¿ Processing and storage of blood components, including cells and plasma ¿ Storage of other body fluids, including urine, sputum, and oral cells ¿ Isolation of DNA with quality control ¿ Maintenance of a sample inventory ¿ High to medium-throughput custom single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping Consultation is provided on all aspects of sample collection and processing for specific studies including the types of tubes needed for sample collection, shipment methods, separation of specific fractions, number of aliquots, etc. The samples processed and/or stored include blood, urine, oral cells, sputum and microscope slides of smeared cells or paraffin sections. Coded samples are received by the facility and processed into appropriate fractions (e.g., plasma, mononuclear cells, granulocytes, total white blood cells and red blood cells) and frozen in multiple aliquots in more that one freezer whenever possible. A webbased data base of the sample inventory is maintained and samples retrieved as as specified in the governing protocol. A telephone alarm system is used to ensure sample safety. Additional services include DNA isolation from buccal and white blood cells, whole genome amplification of limited DNA samples, and high throughput genotyping for single nucleotide polymorphisms in candidate genes. Samples from almost 24,000 subjects participating in 50 different studies, 43 cancer-related, are currently stored in the Biomarkers Laboratory with several new studies initiated in the current grant cycle. Future plans include expansion of patient recruitment to additional cancer sites, expansion of the available freezer space and continual updating of genotyping platforms as reliable and cost-effective new technologies become available. The operating budget is $388,000, of which we are requesting $87,730 from the CCSG.