Biospecimen and Pathology Core

The Biospecimen and Pathology Core provides investigators and collaborators in the Hepatobiliary SPORE with access to high-quality deidentified patient data, DNA, plasma, serum and cancer tissue biospecimens from patients with hepatobiliary cancer.

The core builds on the International Hepatobiliary Neoplasia Biorepository coordinated by Hepatobiliary SPORE co-principal investigator Lewis R. Roberts, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D.

The core coordinates with the Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma Biorepository led by Hepatobiliary SPORE research project leader Sanford M. Simon, Ph.D., at Rockefeller University in New York.

The Biospecimen and Pathology Core is supported by the Biospecimens Accessioning and Processing Core for processing blood to genomic DNA, serum and plasma aliquots, and by the Pathology Research Core for histology and other tissue-based services, including paraffin and frozen sectioning, immunohistochemistry, tissue microarray construction, and digital imaging. Read more about these shared core resources.

The Biospecimen and Pathology Core:

• Obtains patient informed consent for blood and tissue specimens.
• Abstracts patient clinical information into a secure web-based registry that includes demographics, tumor stage, treatments and clinical outcomes.
• Provides clinically annotated blood and tissue specimens for clinical and translational research within the Hepatobiliary SPORE (see the biospecimen dashboard below).
• Provides clinically annotated patient-derived cell lines, organoids, and xenografts and other animal models, including expertise in Sleeping Beauty transposon-induced liver cancer models.