The CHOP Biobank gathers biological samples from CHOP patients and relatives – along with information from electronic medical records – to help researchers better understand the causes, influences and outcomes of both health and disease, as well as identify new treatments and cures. All CHOP patients and families are eligible to participate.
The disease-agnostic, institution-wide biobank has the capacity to process and store millions of biological samples donated by families or left over from care that would otherwise be thrown away. Pediatric biospecimens are important tools to further childhood research to better understand diseases and develop novel treatments; yet children are traditionally underrepresented in U.S. biobanks.
Cutting-edge research in children’s health today requires biobanking of pediatric biological samples, such as blood, tissue and other bodily fluids, along with associated health information. Diseases that affect children are more diverse, rarer and more often have a genetic component than disorders seen in adults. It's also important to gain information on how a child typically grows and develops by including samples from healthy children in biobanking efforts.
“It’s essential to build these large pediatric study populations for the discovery of disease markers, identification of genomic correlations, and development of new treatment options and tools for quicker diagnoses,” said Kathryn H. Driesbaugh, PhD, manager of the CHOP Biobank.
Biological samples and associated data in the CHOP Biobank are used in:
- Medical research to study the underlying genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms of diseases, allowing us to develop more targeted and personalized treatments
- Genetic research to discover genetic markers that indicate disease risk to diagnose diseases earlier and start treatment sooner
- Treatment research to identify which patients may respond well to certain treatments, to determine if certain treatments work well with a particular genetic profile, and to identify any potential side effects
- Epidemiological research to examine why certain diseases are more common in a particular population; to look at how genetics and environmental factors play a role; and identify risk factors, track trends and develop strategies for prevention and intervention
- Biomarker identification to support early detection of disease, disease monitoring and to assess how well a treatment is working
The CHOP Biobank, which works closely with CHOP’s Biorepository Resource Center (BioRC), has the capacity to store 3 million samples and the infrastructure to keep specimens organized, preserved and accessible to the CHOP research community. The resources provided by the BioRC have been used to study a variety of gastrointestinal, hepatological and nutritional conditions.
Biobanking at CHOP is not new, and many efforts already exist, such as the Birth Defects Biorepository, the Roberts Individualized Medical Genetics Center (RIMGC) Biorepository, and the Neuroscience Biorepository. In partnership with these existing programs, the CHOP Biobank is intended to integrate these efforts with an aligned infrastructure, combining data and specimens from multiple resources. The CHOP Biobank is part of the CHOP Omics and Big Data Initiative with the goal of accelerating the development and integration of new omics-based diagnostics and therapeutics for all children.
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The CHOP Biobank gathers biological samples from CHOP patients and relatives – along with information from electronic medical records – to help researchers better understand the causes, influences and outcomes of both health and disease, as well as identify new treatments and cures. All CHOP patients and families are eligible to participate.
The disease-agnostic, institution-wide biobank has the capacity to process and store millions of biological samples donated by families or left over from care that would otherwise be thrown away. Pediatric biospecimens are important tools to further childhood research to better understand diseases and develop novel treatments; yet children are traditionally underrepresented in U.S. biobanks.
Cutting-edge research in children’s health today requires biobanking of pediatric biological samples, such as blood, tissue and other bodily fluids, along with associated health information. Diseases that affect children are more diverse, rarer and more often have a genetic component than disorders seen in adults. It's also important to gain information on how a child typically grows and develops by including samples from healthy children in biobanking efforts.
“It’s essential to build these large pediatric study populations for the discovery of disease markers, identification of genomic correlations, and development of new treatment options and tools for quicker diagnoses,” said Kathryn H. Driesbaugh, PhD, manager of the CHOP Biobank.
Biological samples and associated data in the CHOP Biobank are used in:
- Medical research to study the underlying genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms of diseases, allowing us to develop more targeted and personalized treatments
- Genetic research to discover genetic markers that indicate disease risk to diagnose diseases earlier and start treatment sooner
- Treatment research to identify which patients may respond well to certain treatments, to determine if certain treatments work well with a particular genetic profile, and to identify any potential side effects
- Epidemiological research to examine why certain diseases are more common in a particular population; to look at how genetics and environmental factors play a role; and identify risk factors, track trends and develop strategies for prevention and intervention
- Biomarker identification to support early detection of disease, disease monitoring and to assess how well a treatment is working
The CHOP Biobank, which works closely with CHOP’s Biorepository Resource Center (BioRC), has the capacity to store 3 million samples and the infrastructure to keep specimens organized, preserved and accessible to the CHOP research community. The resources provided by the BioRC have been used to study a variety of gastrointestinal, hepatological and nutritional conditions.
Biobanking at CHOP is not new, and many efforts already exist, such as the Birth Defects Biorepository, the Roberts Individualized Medical Genetics Center (RIMGC) Biorepository, and the Neuroscience Biorepository. In partnership with these existing programs, the CHOP Biobank is intended to integrate these efforts with an aligned infrastructure, combining data and specimens from multiple resources. The CHOP Biobank is part of the CHOP Omics and Big Data Initiative with the goal of accelerating the development and integration of new omics-based diagnostics and therapeutics for all children.
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