TTPSR has been a shared resource (SR) since 1994. It includes the Tissue Processing Lab (TPL), the Human Pathology Lab (HPL), the Comparative Pathology Lab (CPL) and the Organoid Processing Lab (OPL). The Atrium Health Biospecimen Repository (AH BSR) was set up in 2014 as an enterprise-wide resource to provide specimen collection, processing, storage and shipping for specimen banking and clinical trials and for clinical genomics testing.

The mission of the TTPSR is to facilitate clinical and translational cancer research by:

  • Collecting and supplying high-quality, well-characterized human and animal tissues (neoplastic and normal).
  • Providing various pathology services to WFBCCC investigators.
  • Providing enterprise-wide clinical trial specimen support, banking and clinical tumor profiling.

Our vision is to enhance the capabilities of our dedicated researchers, providing superior capabilities in clinical and translational research, leveraging specimens for molecular prognostication and precision medicine.

The HPL provides quality control of samples and clinical pathology expertise to investigators. The CPL provides samples and pathology expertise for preclinical translational animal models, from rodent to non-human primate.

The OPL creates 3D patient-specific tumor organoids and applies them translationally, with the goal of informing personalized cancer treatments as well as the research and development of new therapies.

AH BSR and TTPSR have harmonized processes for specimen banking.

Focus Areas

  • Specimen banking – collection, processing, storage, shipping and distribution; available at all sites.
  • Histology, histotech, assay development, diagnostic and experimental pathology services – human and non-human specimens.
  • Organoid development and screening.
  • Clinical trial specimen collection, processing and shipping.
  • Clinical Genomic Testing – single point of contact and standardized workflow.