Biobanking and Biomarker Validation (BBV) Core

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COBRE Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine (KIPM) – “Biobanking and Biomarker Validation Core” ABSTRACT The overall objective of the “Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine” (KIPM) COBRE at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) is to advance the customization of healthcare through promoting innovative scientific discoveries. We have entered the era of Precision Medicine, an initiative recently announced as part of the 21st Century Cures Act, which is focused on using the molecular basis of diseases to better match patients with the appropriate therapies and care resulting in improved outcomes. To advance this mission, we have established the Biobanking and Biomarker Validation (BBV) Core, which combines exceptional expertise and essential resources within established infrastructure, i.e., Biospecimen Repository Core Facility (BRCF), the Biomarker Discovery Laboratory (BDL), and the Clinical Molecular Oncology Laboratory (CMOL). Access to the BBV core will strengthen the biomedical research capacity of our COBRE faculty by enhancing their research base and infrastructure capacities. To advance precision medicine research within this COBRE, the BBV core will 1) Provide centralized and uniform collections, processing, and storage of tissue and bodily fluids and tissue-related histology services; 2) provide integral and comprehensive protein and nucleic acid isolation, quantitation, and molecular characterization services; and 3) provide fully customizable molecular testing and genomic-based sequencing services. The BBV core is designed to centralize these essential services that will in turn provide support to the KIPM COBRE faculty, pilot grantees, and researchers within our region and beyond. Given the level of sophistication of the materials and services required for the range of studies proposed within the KIPM COBRE, a highly integrated BBV core is not only cost effective but an absolute necessity. The BBV core eliminates redundant infrastructure and expense required for each researcher to develop their own capabilities or to search for the necessary research expertise. The BBV core will enable multiple COBRE faculty and future pilot grantees, access to state-of-the-art facilities and laboratory expertise, thereby further reducing the relative cost of their studies. Furthermore, the BBV core will continue to provide in-kind technical staff-support and banking resources, which help the KIPM COBRE faculty to more effectively utilize their funding, both institutional startup and COBRE support. The success of the BBV core and ultimately the COBRE faculty is essential to advancing the mission of the KIPM to advance the customization of healthcare through promoting innovative scientific discoveries.