Core B: Biospecimen Processing and Storage

Project Summary – Biospecimen Processing and Storage Core (Core B) The proposed SPORE will fill an unmet need in cancer health disparities translational research. The Projects proposed in this application rely on the submission of serial peripheral blood, bone marrow, buccal, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens from children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) across the six participating clinical recruitment sites of the REDIAL Consortium. The Biospecimen Processing and Storage Core (Core B) will serve as the central location where these samples will be processed into the materials needed for the specific studies associated with Research Projects 1 (treatment-associated hepatotoxicity), 2 (methotrexate neurotoxicity), 3 (pharmacogenomics), and 4 (patient-reported outcomes, epigenetics, and social determinants of health), as well as determination of genetic ancestry for use across all Projects. In addition, the Core will provide biobanking of material that will be available for pilot projects through the Developmental Research Program (DRP) and Career Enhancement Program (CEP). This Core will support the collection, shipping, processing, and storage of patient samples from each study site, as well as provide upto-date and accurate sample annotation. The Core will follow previously developed standard operating procedures to ensure uniform collection and processing for optimal sample yield and quality. The Aims of the Core are to: 1) Receive and catalog blood, bone marrow, buccal samples, and CSF provided by the Consortium sites; 2) Process all patient samples to isolate plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and bone marrow mononuclear cells, and separate blasts from non-blasts where appropriate; 3) Allocate and distribute samples to Projects; and 4) Maintain a biobank of samples for future research. The resulting biobank will be an extremely valuable resource for this U54 translational research grant and future translational studies examining disparities in childhood ALL.