The effective procurement, storage, distribution, and utilization of human biospecimens are critical to the mission of the UChicago Medicine. Established in 2001, the Human Tissue Resource Center (HTRC) (https://voices.uchicago.edu/htrc) is a College of American Pathologists (CAP)-accredited core facility.

Supported by the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) and the Biological Sciences Division (BSD), the HTRC operates under the oversight of the Office of Shared Research Facilities (OSRF). Our mission is to provide investigators with a centralized infrastructure to optimize the efficiencies and costs related to biospecimen-based research.

The HTRC comprises four integrated sub-cores (Biospecimen Bank, Laser Capture Microdissection, Digital Pathology, and Histology Services) and functions as an integrated unit. Thus, duplication of personnel, equipment, and information systems is avoided, and coordination of activities is assured. The HTRC procures a wide spectrum of clinically-annotated human biospecimens including tissue, plasma, serum, saliva, urine, lymphocyte DNA, and PBMCs.

In addition, we provide a wide array of downstream histology services for human and animal tissues including the processing of tissues to paraffin blocks, sectioning of paraffin and frozen sections, routine H&E staining, and immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF), in situ hybridization (ISH), tissue microarray (TMA) construction, and digital whole slide scanning.

Currently, the HTRC has an inventory of over 485,000 samples that have been banked for 488 unique investigator-initiated and institutional-initiated protocols. The majority of the samples are linked to annotated clinical data from IRB-approved consented protocols.

A high-level inventory of human biospecimens is found below. 

UCCCC is pleased to announce two new biobanking policies and financial incentives that will benefit translational cancer investigators.

Cancer biospecimens are collected by UCCCC investigators for a variety of purposes to support their research. Two new UCCCC biobanking policies aim at supporting a broad range of translational cancer investigators including those not affiliated with any collection protocols. The policies intend to create equitable use of biobanking resources, create a more representative collection of biospecimens across cancer disease areas, enhance the efficiency of the UCCCC biospecimen banks, and assure that the use of biospecimens is scientifically justified.

The Biobanking Policy and Biospecimen Access and Utilization Policy can be accessed at https://voices.uchicago.edu/cccbiospecimens/. Key excerpts are included below. 

• Applies to all biobanking protocols that receive financial support from the UCCCC above and beyond the general support UCCCC provides to the HTRC
• Aims at centralizing biospecimen collection protocols through financial incentives
• Describes the creation of a standing Biospecimen Review Committee with full authority over all UCCCC biospecimen policies and procedures
• Includes financial incentives for two biobank protocol categories:
  • Tier 1 protocols (umbrella protocols that are not disease- or project-specific) will qualify for a full subsidy from UCCCC for (1) consenting, coordination, and special delivery through Biofluids, and (2) processing, tracking, and distribution of specimens through HTRC. Users must use HTRC for biospecimen processing, tracking, and storage.

 YouChicago is the only current Tier 1 protocol. Investigators interested in creating a new Tier 1 protocol should contact Dr. Walter Stadler (wstadler@uchicagomedicine.org).

•  Tier 2 protocols (disease-specific protocols that share their specimen inventory with the UCCCC) will qualify for a 30% subsidy applicable to HTRC biobanking fees. This is in addition to the 10% discount already offered for UCCCC members. Users must use HTRC for biospecimen processing, tracking, and storage.

• Applies to all biospecimen collection protocols for which a UCCCC member is the PI
• Aims at creating equitable use of biospecimens and assuring that use of biospecimens is scientifically justified 
• Describes in detail the mandatory scientific review process for biospecimen withdrawal
• Describes what happens if a biospecimen protocol PI relinquishes responsibility for a biobanking protocol
• Explains the HTRC process for handling specimen transfers to investigators

For additional information, please contact Dr. Walter Stadler (Dean for Clinical Research, BSD; UCCCC Biospecimen Committee Chair, wstadler@uchicagomedicine.org).