Down Syndrome Research Biobank Launched in Collaboration With DownSyndrome Achieves
Post Date: February 22, 2021 | Publish Date:
Cincinnati Children’s has collaborated with DownSyndrome Achieves (DSA) to launch a research biobank that will serve as a central repository for biospecimens donated by individuals with Down syndrome and their immediate families.
The DSA Biobank team at Cincinnati Children’s includes:
- The laboratory of William Nichols, PhD, associate director of research in the Division of Human Genetics at Cincinnati Children’s
- The Cincinnati Children’s Discover Together Biobank, which is directed by Michael Pauciulo, MBA.
The Discover Together Biobank at Cincinnati Children’s is a secure facility for a variety of blood, saliva, and tissue samples as well as related information that helps researchers drive scientific breakthroughs.
The DSA Biobank will create an important, novel biospecimen resource for the Down syndrome research community, Dr. Nichols says.
Pauciulo adds: “This partnership with DSA and Dr. Nichols continues Discover Together down the path of utilizing our biobanking expertise and infrastructure to partner with national and regional research networks.”
Lito Ramirez, CEO of DownSyndrome Achieves, which is a nonprofit research advocacy group based in Dublin, Ohio, described the new DSA Biobank as a national resource.
The DSA Biobank located at Cincinnati Children’s is the first of its kind to catalog, store, and openly share biosamples and associated health data for study, according to Ramirez.
The focus on fostering collaboration is expected to provide researchers with the critical biosamples needed to develop breakthrough treatments and therapies, Ramirez adds.
For more information about the new DSA Biobank, click here.
