Coriell Cell Repository catalogs blood and tissue samples and makes them available to investigators worldwide. IRSF seeks to expand the RTT blood/tissue collection at Coriell.
Brain Tissue Resources
Harvard Brain Bank Tissue Resource Center
The Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (HBTRC) has fresh frozen and formalin fixed tissues of brain samples from a number of Rett patients banked by IRSF.
To use the Rett related tissues in the HBTRC repository, please contact either Dr. Steven Kaminsky, Chief Science Officer at IRSF ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; 301-691-1559) or Dr. Janice Ascano, Director of Sponsored Programs at IRSF ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; 917-267-4504) Their initial instruction will be as follows:
- Go to www.brainbank.mclean.org/ and pull down the Investigator forms. Fill them out and return them to either Dr. Kaminsky or Dr. Ascano.
- IRSF will then review the application.
- If the request is approved, IRSF will send the application forms to the HBTRC for processing.
- After receiving the approved application from the IRSF, the staff at the HBTRC will communicate with the Principle Investigator to discuss his/her specific tissue needs.
The NICHD Brain and Tissue Bank for Developmental Disorders at the University of Maryland, Baltimore is a human tissue repository that was established to advance the research of developmental disorders. The Bank systematically collects, stores, and distributes brain and other tissues for research dedicated to the improved understanding, care and treatment of individuals with developmental disorders.
The recipients of tissue and the NICHD Brain and Tissue Bank are required to sign a Material Transfer Agreement before any tissue are transferred. All requests for tissue are to be in writing to the Bank.
The Bank has extensive experience in arranging for the rapid retrieval of tissue upon the death of individuals who die while at home, in hospitals or hospice care. As a special service, the Bank is able to assist investigators who are working with patients who intend to donate tissues at the time of their death. A registry for donors has also been established.
The central office is located at the University of Maryland Baltimore and its collaborative site is at the University of Miami .
National Human Neural Stem Cell Resource (NHNSCR) drives national research in the field of neural stem cells by providing a reliable resource for these cells to investigators nationwide.
Neural stem cells in the Resource are acquired from several central nervous system sources and represent controls and genetic mutations. This is of utmost importance as the field of neural stem cells has applicability to such diverse areas as:
- increasing our understanding of the basic mechanisms involved in the development of the nervous system from a few cells to the extremely complex final product that is the human brain;
- increasing our understanding of the effects of genetic disease on the structure and function of the nervous system;
- providing tools by which new drugs that can be used to treat diseases of the nervous system can be designed; and
- providing a cell population that could potentially be used to treat such nervous system diseases as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, seizure disorders, stroke, Parkinson's disease, and others that traditionally have been thought to be untreatable to any significant extent.
The Resource encourages investigators to study these cells as potential transplantable tissue for the repair of injury such as that sustained during traumatic brain injury or stroke, for the repair of pathological processes such as those seen in the neurogenetic diseases Hurler’s disease or Leigh's disease, or for repair of neurodegenerative processes such those seen in Parkinson's or Alzheimer Diseases.
In addition, the cells should be used for the detailed study of mechanisms of neural differentiation and transdifferentiation and the genetic and environmental signals that direct the specialization of the cells into particular cell types.
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Director of the NHNSCR, welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with investigators from other institutions. The current focus of his research is on the banking and characterization of neural stem cells harvested from postmortem human brain, particularly those from children and adults with neurogenetic disease. Please contact him for more information or contact the Children’s Hospital of Orange County’s 24-hour CHOC line: 714-997-3000.
