The CVM Staff Council is pleased to highlight the Biobank in the March 2019 edition of CVM eNews. The Biobank team, working at the CVM and Baker Institute, collects, processes, stores, and distributes a collection of samples (DNA, blood derivatives, and tissue), as well as relevant medical data for use by researchers at Cornell and beyond.

Recently, the Biobank staff sat down with the CVM Staff Council to tell us about the work they do.

Staff Council: Please tell us about the history and mission of the CVM Biobank.

Biobank: The Biobank was started in 2006 by Dr. Rory Todhunter. The purpose of the Biobank is to obtain and manage a collection of samples acquired from patients that present to our hospitals (CUHA or CUVS), harnessing the research potential of the wide variety of cases that come to Cornell. These samples are available as a resource to the clinical research community. The Biobank serves as a bridge between clinicians and researchers, providing a way for valuable samples to be collected, catalogued and made available. Our goal is to accelerate biomedical research and advance animal and human health.

Staff Council: What are the day-to-day responsibilities of the Biobank team?

Biobank: Part of our team focuses on sample acquisition. We work with our hospitals’ clinical team to collect peripheral blood as well as tumors after surgical excision or during necropsy with Cornell pathologists. We collect samples that do not interfere with animal health or diagnostic results. We save biological materials that might otherwise be discarded and process/prepare them in ways that make them useful to researchers. Information about each animal, especially the diagnosis, is stored in a custom database built by Veterinary Medical Information Technologies. Another part of the team processes the samples for storage. This may include extracting DNA or RNA from samples or preserving tissues. These processes all require quality control and careful preparation.

In addition to sample collection, inventorying and processing, there is a large human component to our jobs. We work hard to establish connections with the clinical team at CUHA and CUVS and we collaborate with them as they reach out to owners to get consent for sample collection, and assist us with the biobanking processes. We are also constantly reaching out to researchers, to let them know how we can offer them support and strengthen their research.

Staff Council: What are the best aspects of working with the Biobank?

Biobank: We truly work as a team, both within our group and with the greater CVM community. To be successful, we rely on the willingness of owners to provide samples that may not benefit their animals directly, but that may ultimately help to promote animal or human health.

Another positive aspect of working with the Biobank has been the chance to be instrumental in its organizational development. We are currently in the process of working with Denise Archer, AHDC Quality Assurance Manager, to prepare our biobank to be in compliance with the International Organization for Standards (ISO) document 20387 – General Requirement for Biobanking. ISO is an organization that creates documents that provide requirements, specifications and guidelines for processes. We will be the first biobank (of any type) to be accredited to this ISO standard, and the documents and processes we create can be used as a model for biobanks worldwide.

Staff Council: What would you like the CVM community to know about the Biobank?

Biobank: We would like to stress that we are here to be of service to the research community and are invested in using all of the samples we so carefully collect.  Our purpose is to provide properly curated samples to researchers who can use them to make new discoveries that may lead to new treatments or other medical advances.  Please contact us if you are interested in taking advantage of our collection. For more information you can visit our website: https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments/centers/cornell-veterinary-biobank or contact us at vetbiobank@cornell.edu.

Staff Council: Thank you, Biobank team for providing us with information for the CVM Staff Council’s March Spotlight! We enjoyed meeting you and learning more about the Biobank.

Do you have ideas or suggestions for an upcoming Spotlight? If so, please email us at cvmstaffcouncil@cornell.edu.