Human Tissue Resource Center

The mission of the HTRC is to provide cancer investigators with a centralized infrastructure to optimize the efficiency and costs related to research involving human biospecimens. The HTRC occupies 2,500 square feet of newly remodeled space within Pathology and functions as an integrated unit. Thus, duplication of personnel, equipment, and information systems are avoided, and coordination of activities is assured. The HTRC now comprises three integrated facilities: Biospecimen Bank (BSB), Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM), and Pathology Image Analysis (PIA). Currently the HTRC provides services for the collection of clinically-annotated human tissues, as well as blood/serum/plasma/saliva for cancer-related research. In addition, the Core provides collaborative support and services for histopathology, LCM, tissue microarray preparation (TMA), and nucleic acid extraction. In this way, we provide a coordinated, centralized, and dedicated program for the procuring, processing, dispersing and assessing all types of biospecimens.