Biorepository Laboratory

In addition to conducting personalized brain tumor typing to help guide treatment decisions, every tumor we remove is preserved in our brain tumor bank. Also known as tissue banks, these facilities store collected samples for future research. The Henry Ford tumor bank is one of the largest in the world, containing over 6,000 tissue samples. The Hermelin Brain Tumor Center (HBTC) was a major contributor of tumor tissue to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). TCGA was a national cooperative of academic medical centers, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), formed to analyze tissue samples and chart genomic changes in 20 different types of cancer.

Our tumor bank samples are also used for brain tumor research conducted at our center, such as:

• Acquiring molecular data from glioblastoma and other aggressive brain tumors.
• A large-scale analysis to determine genetic factors that may, or may not, be responsible for variations in clinical outcomes. Some patients achieve long-term survival while others do not fare as well – even with the same pathologies, demographics, and tumor features.

Our brain tumor typing research is documented in collaboratively published studies proving how genetic analyses could enhance treatment outcomes and quality of life.

Day-to-Day Operations

Once the tissue is collected from the neurosurgery operating rooms, multiple procedures are employed that involve all branches of the neurosurgery research team such as:

• Neurosphere cell culture
• Freezing and storing tissue for DNA/RNA analysis
• In vitro and in vivo research using glioma cell lines developed within the HBTC
• Collaborations with research laboratories both here and abroad
• Collection, processing, and freezing of patient blood serum from the operating room (began in 2011), leading to the development of current DNA research in Dr. Noushmehr’s laboratory.
• Liquid Biopsy protocol and blood collection procedures established for serial blood collections from patients.
• gDNA extraction from blood samples, which has taken place since the Tumor Bank was launched in 1992.

For Research Collaborations

The following survey collects information about the resources that you would like to request from the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center. This initial information will be reviewed by our committee to determine whether the resources you need are available and appropriate next steps.

In addition to conducting personalized brain tumor typing to help guide treatment decisions, every tumor we remove is preserved in our brain tumor bank. Also known as tissue banks, these facilities store collected samples for future research. The Henry Ford tumor bank is one of the largest in the world, containing over 6,000 tissue samples. The Hermelin Brain Tumor Center (HBTC) was a major contributor of tumor tissue to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). TCGA was a national cooperative of academic medical centers, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), formed to analyze tissue samples and chart genomic changes in 20 different types of cancer.

Our tumor bank samples are also used for brain tumor research conducted at our center, such as:

• Acquiring molecular data from glioblastoma and other aggressive brain tumors.
• A large-scale analysis to determine genetic factors that may, or may not, be responsible for variations in clinical outcomes. Some patients achieve long-term survival while others do not fare as well – even with the same pathologies, demographics, and tumor features.

Our brain tumor typing research is documented in collaboratively published studies proving how genetic analyses could enhance treatment outcomes and quality of life.

Day-to-Day Operations

Once the tissue is collected from the neurosurgery operating rooms, multiple procedures are employed that involve all branches of the neurosurgery research team such as:

• Neurosphere cell culture
• Freezing and storing tissue for DNA/RNA analysis
• In vitro and in vivo research using glioma cell lines developed within the HBTC
• Collaborations with research laboratories both here and abroad
• Collection, processing, and freezing of patient blood serum from the operating room (began in 2011), leading to the development of current DNA research in Dr. Noushmehr’s laboratory.
• Liquid Biopsy protocol and blood collection procedures established for serial blood collections from patients.
• gDNA extraction from blood samples, which has taken place since the Tumor Bank was launched in 1992.

For Research Collaborations

The following survey collects information about the resources that you would like to request from the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center. This initial information will be reviewed by our committee to determine whether the resources you need are available and appropriate next steps. Take the survey.