Facility Benefits Cancer Researchers
Tulane cancer researchers who use tissue samples in their experiments now have an in-house resource to help them in their laboratory studies. The Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium's Biospecimen Core Facility "is an extremely useful resource for cancer researchers,” says Tulane pathologist Dr. Krzysztof Moroz. “We hope to continue to expand the variety of services and the diversity of tissue samples we are able to offer in the future.”
Tulane pathology professor Krzysztof Moroz co-directs the Biospecimen Core Facility of the Louisiana Cancer Resarch Consortium to aid cancer researchers in their work. (Photo by George Long)
The facility provides high-quality samples of normal and diseased human tissues, along with associated tumor data, while ensuring informed consent from patients, safety and donor anonymity, as well as that all state and federal regulatory safeguards are in place, says Moroz.
The biospecimen core facility is directed jointly by Moroz, professor of pathology at the Tulane School of Medicine, and Arnold Zea, assistant professor of microbiology at Louisiana State University.
According to Moroz, the facility's work benefits the public by contributing to the understanding of cancer disparity in New Orleans and the state; development of individualized treatment approaches to cancers; biomarker development to detect cancer early; and better understanding of treatment response and failure.
Core equipment and services assist research across programs and provide resources that would not be at the disposal of a single research laboratory. The Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium, a partnership between Tulane, LSU and Xavier universities, provides a number of different core facilities for researchers affiliated with the Tulane Cancer Center.
Since its first tissue collection on Sept. 5, 2007, the facility has amassed more than 10,000 sample specimens from approximately 300 patients at Tulane Medical Center, Tulane-Lakeside Hospital, University Hospital and Earl K. Long Hospital. This list soon will include East Jefferson General Hospital and Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System patients who receive operations at Tulane Medical Center.
Melanie N. Cross is the public relations and marketing coordinator for the Tulane Cancer Center.
