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Shared Resources

Welcome to Tissue Core!

Moffitt’s centralized biorepository specializing in biospecimen procurement, processing, and management. We are here to support Moffitt’s biospecimen related research needs.

What is Tissue Core?

One of the Shared Resources facilities at Moffitt Cancer Center (MCC), Tissue Core serves as the central biorepository for the institution. Established in 1992, our mission is to collect, process, store, and release high-quality, annotated biospecimens in support of innovative oncology research performed by Moffitt team members in the fields of basic, population, clinical, and translational research. Tissue Core is housed across multiple Moffitt campuses. Staffed by over 40 highly trained Biorepository Coordinators, Research Specialists, Staff Scientists, Supervisors, Team Leads, Research Pathologists and Administrators, Tissue Core supports biospecimen banking operations, clinical trials, and biospecimen driven research studies.

Tissue Core activities toward their goals are organized into three specific aims:

  • Serve as the centralized Moffitt biobanking resource for the collection, processing, and storage of biospecimens;
  • Facilitate and ensure access to high-quality biospecimens and state-of-the-science services through implementation of biorepository best practices; and
  • Enrich Member research through streamlined utilization, biospecimen education and training that ensures high-quality outcomes.

Tissue Core Structure

Recent restructuring:

In order to meet these goals, Tissue Core operations are divided into four distinct pillars of service that work collaboratively to ensure specimen quality is maintained from procurement to preservation.

Investigator Initiated Trial & Total Cancer Care Lab (TCC), comprised of Intake & Acquisition (TCC ACQ) and Biorepository Operations, is responsible for the procurement, annotation, fractionation of non-clinical trial related biospecimens for investigator-initiated research. This team also manages MCC’s TCC general biorepository by banking and retrieving biospecimens for approved investigator studies. This team receives and inventories clinical materials from their collaborators in Pathology for secondary research use for supported studies.

Clinical Trials Biospecimen Services (CTBS) procures, processes, preserves, and packages biospecimens unique to sponsor-initiated and therapeutic clinical trials. This team receives and inventories clinical materials from their collaborators in Pathology for secondary research use for supported studies.

CTBS became a newly developed branch of the Tissue Core in 2021 as a response to the increased volumes of trials supported by the Tissue Core. This branch provides dedicated resources to supporting these studies. It provides a central resource for all solid biospecimen inquiries and requests for sponsor initiated clinical trials by combining collection and processing services into one branch. 

Biospecimen Processing Services (BPS) is composed of the Sample Processing Lab (SPL), Research Histology Services (RHS), and Research Pathology Services (RPS). These teams were consolidated into this one administrative branch in 2020 to increase workflow efficiency and in response to the notable growth in the Core. With this consolidation and the development of CTBS, it allowed for dedicated support by this team for investigator-initiated biospecimen science.
BPS provides specialized specimen processing services that are either not cost effective to be performed in small scale by individual laboratories or that require expertly trained staff and/or specialized equipment, including blood and other liquid biospecimen fractionation, nucleic acid extraction and quantification, histologic processing, tissue microarray construction, immunohistochemistry (IHC), selection of tissue regions of interest, annotation of tissue primitives, and IHC intensity scoring.

Operations Support Staff (OPS) is comprised of a Biorepository Data Analyst, Quality Assurance Supervisor, and Special Projects Coordinator that track biospecimens (physically & virtually) from the time of procurement, throughout processing, to the time of archiving or release to ensure efficient workflows and to ensure tissue handling techniques adhere to best practice guidelines. They also manage the department’s Biospecimen Inventory System and other support systems, Quality Management Program, and intake and coordination of service requests.

In total, Tissue Core offers nearly 80 unique services that meet NCI best practices recommendations and College of American Pathologist (CAP) Biorepository Accreditation standards.

Investigator Initiate & Total Cancer Care Laboratory (TCC) Clinical Trial Biospecimen Services (CTBS) Biospecimen Processing Services (BPS) Operations Support Staff
Major Services Major Services Major Services Major Services

Acquisition (TCC ACQ) TCC 

  • Biospecimen Collection for Investigator-initiated studies & TCC General Banking
  • Plasma, serum, buffy coat blood fractionation. Liquid biospecimen aliquoting. 
  • Inventory of Pathology materials requested for secondary research use

TCC Biorepository

  • TCC Protocol Support
  • Banking & Storage 
  • Region of interest dissection 
  • Research Pathologist Services 
  • Biospecimen retrieval 
  • Stool inventory, management & kit assembly
  • IATA certified packaging for shipment
  • Biospecimen Collection for sponsor-initiated interventional clinical trials
  • General Histology 
  • Inventory of Pathology materials requested for secondary research use 
  • IATA certified packaging for shipment
  • Biospecimen kit management

Sample Processing Lab (SPL) Liquids

  • Plasma, serum, buffy coat blood fractionation. Liquid biospecimen aliquoting. 
  • Mononuclear cell isolation

Solids

  • Nucleic Acid extractions, optimization, quantification & quality assessment

Research Histology Services (RHS) & Research Pathology Services (RPS)

  • General Histology
  • Immunohistochemistry (IHC)
  • Tissue Microarray Construction (TMA)
  • Research Pathology Services including region of interest identification, case selection, annotation of tissue primitives, and IHC intensity scoring
  • Biorepository Analyst
  • Quality Management Supervisor
  • Project Management Special Projects Coordinator

Tissue Core Services and Support

Below are contacts for requesting services and support from the Tissue Core as well as information regarding locations, and hours of operation:

Investigator Initiated & Total Cancer Care Acquisition (TCC ACQ)

Tissue Core collections of human biospecimens occur at the Magnolia (MCC) and McKinley (MKC) campuses at MCC.

  • MCC Magnolia Lab 3040
    • Hours of Support: Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • MKC McKinley Lab 2130
    • Hours of Support: Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
      with option to float in contingency from MMH to 6:30 p.m.
  • MMH Moffitt McKinley Hospital Lab 2223
    • Hours of Support: Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Collection Services
    • Biospecimen collection services are available at all Moffitt campuses.
      • The Magnolia, McKinley and MMH campuses have dedicated laboratories to support these collections.
      • Special considerations will be made for collection services being requested at Moffitt International Plaza (MIP) and Moffitt Wesley Chapel (MWC). Please alert the team at time of protocol registration (prior to accrual) for any expected MIP and/or MWC collections to allow for coordination.
    • Contact:
      TissueCoreTCCACQ@moffitt.org
      813-745-8240

Tissue Core - Total Cancer Care Biorepository

  • Hours of Support: Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    • Manifest of samples being shipped (Tissue Core can provide this service as a Project Management fee)
  • Contact:
    Tissue Core TCC Lab
    TCC@moffitt.org
    813-384-5057
    MIOMS 129                             

Tissue Core Clinical Trial Biospecimen Services (CTBS)

Tissue Core collections of human biospecimens occur at the Magnolia (MCC), McKinley (MKC), and MMH campuses.

  • MCC Magnolia Lab 2060
    • Hours of Support: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m to 5 p.m.
  • MKC McKinley Lab 2130
    • Hours of Support: M – Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
      with option to float in contingency from MMH to 6:30 p.m.
  •  Collection Services
    • Biospecimen collection services are available at the Magnolia, McKinley and MMH campuses.
    • Special considerations will be made for collection services being requested at Moffitt International Plaza (MIP) and Moffitt Wesley Chapel (MWC). Please alert the team at time of protocol registration (prior to accrual) for any expected MIP and/or MWC collections to allow for coordination.
    • Contact:
      TissueCoreCTBS@moffitt.org
      813-745-2759
      MCC 2060

Tissue Core – Biospecimen Processing Services – Sample Processing Lab (TC-SPL) at MIOMS

Tissue Core – Biospecimen Processing Services - Research Histology Services (TC-RHS) at MIOMS

  • Hours of Support:
    • Research Pathologist Services: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
    • General Histology: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    • Tissue Microarray: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
    • Immunohistochemistry: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    • Contact:
      Tissue Core Histology Lab                                         
      TissueCoreHistology@moffitt.org
      813-745-1862
      MIOMS 115

Operations Support Staff 
TissueCoreRequests@moffitt.org

This work has been supported in part by the Tissue Core at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, a comprehensive cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute and funded in part by Moffitt’s Cancer Center Support Grant (P30-CA076292)