Biorepository

Mission

The EVMS Biorepository is designed to improve the health of the community by providing a centralized resource of high-quality, annotated biospecimens to support present and future research studies, diagnostic development and the creation of new therapeutics. Our services are available to EVMS as well as to other universities and research centers.

About the biorepository 

Tissue stainingThe EVMS Biorepository collects, processes and stores biological specimens and associated data. Our facilities include an environmentally-controlled space that provides a low-temperature, low-humidity environment to maximize the life and cooling ability of specimen freezers for storage of clinical tissues and fluids.‌ There is an adjoining room used to store patient tissue blocks. An additional clean room used for sample allocation and processing is equipped with a sample sublimation platform and barcode sample entry system. The resource has a full-time staff on site for specimen processing, inventory management and database management.

See a listing of staff members.

Effective July 1st, 2021, a fee will be added to rush requests. See current prices or submit a biorepository request.

The Biorepository has over 70,000 human samples available including:

  • Prostate, placenta, kidney, bladder, breast, skin and head and neck tissues
  • 45,000 blood-related samples (including serum, plasma, buffy coat)
  • 7,000 urine samples
  • 18,000 tissue samples (including OCT, fresh frozen, FFPE)

The Biorepository is paralleled by a comprehensive clinical data repository. Our web-based management system maintains the data in a secure SQL server database. The Biorepository works closely with clinicians and researchers to facilitate project-based consenting, procuring, processing, storage and dissemination of samples and data (as fee-for-service).

In 2017, the EVMS Biorepository obtained College of American Pathologists (CAP) biorepository accreditation. The three-year accreditation program focuses on the kind of quality, accuracy, procedural consistency, best practices and evidence-based standards that directly improves research outcomes. CAP accreditation uses a peer inspection model and a broad checklist to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date blueprint of quality practices, enabling us to ensure superior quality specimens. Moreover, the accreditation encompasses the lab services the EVMS Biorepository offers so that our researchers can have faith in the work that we produce.

 

Histology Lab

Oil Red O control (liver); 10x & 40x
Oil Red O control (liver); 10x and 40x

The EVMS Histology Lab provides technical research pathology services to EVMS investigators and other academic, clinical and scientific organizations. It is housed in Lewis Hall.

Effective July 1st, 2021, a fee will be added to rush requests. See current prices or submit a histology services request.

Capabilities

  • Routine and specialized tissue processing
  • Microtomy and cryotomy
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Special stains
  • Tissue microarray development
  • Microscope slide scanning

Sirius Red (liver); 5x & 10x
Sirius Red (liver); 5x and 10x


Examples of current staining

  • H&E
  • Oil Red O
  • Sirius red
  • Trichrome
  • IHC (optimization & validation

*All stains validated by a pathologist.

nanoString Multiplex Gene Expression Service

The nanoString nCounter platform provides a simple and cost effective solution for multiplex analysis of up to 800 RNA, DNA, or protein targets from your precious samples. See current prices or submit a nanoString service request.

nanoString NCounter Platform and related Chemistry

nanoString nCounter platform

Slide imaging services

We offer high resolution slide imaging on the Leica Aperio AT2 Digital slide scanner.
The AT2 scanner offers rapid, high resolution whole slide imaging with a 400 slide capacity. The Aperio family of scanners feature: remote, real-time viewing and collaboration, integrated image and data management and quantitative, reproducible image analysis.



Service request forms

Did you know EVMS Pathology and Anatomy provides a variety of fee-based services such as patient consenting, IRB revision, sample storage and pathologist review? Specific services can be requested with the following forms: