Rush Cancer Biorepository
Strategically curated biospecimens. Deep clinical context. Built for translational discovery.
The Rush Cancer Biorepository is a translational research infrastructure designed to connect high-quality human biospecimens with the clinical, pathologic and molecular information needed to answer consequential questions in cancer biology, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. Its origins date to 2004, when investigators at Rush began systematically archiving surplus thoracic tumor specimens, serum, plasma and plasma buffy coat to support a growing thoracic oncology research program. Since then, the resource has expanded into a broader cancer biorepository supporting investigator-initiated, federally funded and collaborative translational research across Rush.
Our goal is not simply to store specimens. We work with investigators to build research-ready cohorts: identifying the right patients, biospecimen types, collection time points, clinical variables and downstream analytical requirements needed to address specific scientific questions. This combination of strategic accrual, standardized biospecimen practices and scientific consultation allows the Biorepository to function as an active research partner rather than a passive archive.
A Research Platform, Not Just a Specimen Bank
The Biorepository combines long-term strategic accrual with the ability to launch new, fit-for-purpose collections. Investigators can engage the resource in two complementary ways:
Access existing collections. Identify and assemble retrospective cohorts from strategically accrued biospecimens linked to relevant clinical and pathologic information.
Build a prospective collection. Design and operationalize new collection efforts tailored to a grant, clinical trial, biomarker-development program or industry-sponsored study.
Why Partner with the Rush Cancer Biorepository?
- Established, strategic collections. The resource has accrued cancer biospecimens since 2004, beginning with Rush’s thoracic oncology research program and expanding over time to support broader cancer research. This long-term accrual creates cohorts capable of supporting both cross-sectional and longitudinal research questions.
- Scale. Current holdings include more than 100,000 plasma specimens and more than 50,000 serum specimens reflecting in excess of 8,000 individuals, with many cases represented by longitudinal time points and/or matched specimen types.
- Multiple biospecimen classes. Resources include serum, plasma, PBMC-related products, blood derivatives, tissue and collaborative patient-derived organoid specimens, with project-specific collection of additional materials when feasible.
- Clinically anchored cohorts. Biospecimen selection can be guided by diagnosis, treatment history, outcomes, longitudinal follow-up and other clinically meaningful variables appropriate to the study question.
- Prospective collection expertise. The team can help investigators design and implement new collection protocols, including patient identification, consent coordination, specimen acquisition, processing, annotation, and long-term storage. All collections and processing are based on “Best Practices” in biospecimen science, as defined by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER).
- Integration with pathology and clinical research operations. The Biorepository is embedded within the Rush clinical and research environment, facilitating coordination with surgical pathology, clinical teams, and research programs.
- Molecular data integration. Selected cohorts can be aligned with genomic, transcriptomic, and other molecular data when those resources are available, enabling multi-omic and biomarker-driven study designs.
- Translation-ready infrastructure. The resource supports academic investigators, multi-investigator programs, clinical trials, federally funded research and collaborative projects with biotechnology, diagnostic and biopharmaceutical partners.
- Scientific consultation from the beginning. Investigators are encouraged to engage the Biorepository before finalizing study design to ensure specimen selection, processing, annotation, and downstream requirements are aligned with the study objectives.
Patient Materials
- Serum and plasma
- Whole-blood derivatives and PBMC-related products
- Fresh, frozen and/or archived tissue resources
- Longitudinal specimens collected across clinically meaningful time points
- Matched specimen sets from the same patient
- Prospectively collected specimens for new studies
- Associated clinical, pathologic and outcome information appropriate to approved research use
Patient-Derived Organoid Resources
The Biorepository also supports access to patient-derived organoid (PDO) materials generated through collaborative cancer research programs. These models can provide investigators with experimentally tractable systems that retain clinically relevant features of the tumors from which they were derived and can complement studies performed with archived tissue, blood-based specimens and molecular data.
Available PDO materials vary by disease site, study and collection status. Investigators interested in incorporating patient-derived organoids into their research are encouraged to contact the Biorepository team to discuss the scientific question, determine what materials are currently available and explore opportunities for collaborative studies or prospective model development.
Prospective Collection and Clinical-Trial Support
For studies requiring new biospecimen acquisition, the Biorepository can help investigators develop an operational plan that is appropriate for the scientific aims and anticipated downstream analyses. Support may include:
- Defining eligible patient populations and collection time points
- Selecting biospecimen types and processing conditions
- Coordinating informed-consent and patient-enrollment workflows with the appropriate clinical research infrastructure
- Specimen acquisition, accessioning, processing and aliquoting
- Standardized labeling and inventory management
- Long-term cryopreservation and monitored storage
- Clinical annotation and study-specific data capture
- Specimen distribution for approved internal or external analyses
- Clinical and Molecular Data Integration
High-value translational research increasingly depends on the ability to connect biospecimens to more than a diagnosis. The Biorepository is being developed as an integrated resource in which patient specimens can be evaluated alongside longitudinal clinical information and, for selected cohorts, complementary molecular data such as tumor genomic or transcriptomic profiles.
This creates a foundation for studies that ask more sophisticated questions: Which biomarkers predict recurrence? Which molecular features identify treatment-sensitive tumors? Which circulating signals track with disease progression or recovery? Which specimens can be used to validate a discovery made in another platform or cohort?
Quality, Stewardship and Research Readiness
Specimen quality, reproducibility and traceability are central to the resource. Standardized biobanking protocols consistent with recommendations in the NCI Best Practices for Biospecimen Resources have guided collection and processing from the program’s earliest years. Workflows are designed to preserve pre-analytical quality, maintain secure inventory control and support controlled long-term storage so that specimens remain research-ready for future technologies and questions that may not have existed when they were collected.
Specimens are accessioned within a laboratory information management framework, labeled using cryogenic-compatible identifiers, and maintained in monitored storage environments with contingency capacity for equipment failure. Biorepository leadership also participates regularly in scientific meetings, seminars and professional activities focused on biobanking science so that emerging standards and technical advances can be evaluated and incorporated into routine practice when appropriate.
An Integrated Translational Ecosystem
The Biorepository is particularly powerful because it operates within a broader translational-development environment at Rush. Its leadership is integrated with the Rush Biomarker Development Core, creating a direct pathway from cohort identification and biospecimen access to biomarker measurement, custom assay development, analytical validation and high-throughput testing.
The resource also participates in collaborative programs involving tumor molecular profiling, patient-derived model systems and industry-sponsored research. Together, these capabilities allow investigators to design projects in which biospecimens, clinical phenotypes, molecular data and functional or biomarker assays are assembled around a single translational question.
Research Applications
- Cancer biomarker discovery and validation
- Early detection and screening research
- Prognostic and recurrence-risk studies
- Predictive biomarker and treatment-response studies
- Mechanisms of therapeutic resistance
- Longitudinal surveillance studies
- Cancer cachexia and host-response research
- Multi-omic and integrated molecular profiling
- Development of patient-derived experimental models
- Retrospective feasibility studies supporting grant applications
- Prospective clinical and industry-sponsored research
The most productive biorepository studies begin before specimens are requested. Rush investigators planning either a new collection or use of existing materials are encouraged to engage the Biorepository as early as possible for a no-cost preliminary consultation. Together, we can define the intended validation cohort or collection strategy, determine the biospecimen types and time points required, select processing and archival methods appropriate for the anticipated downstream analyses, and identify relevant regulatory, annotation and operational requirements.
Following this consultation, the team can develop a project-specific scope and cost estimate that accounts for the infrastructure needed to support patient recruitment, biospecimen acquisition, annotation, processing and long-term cryopreservation. For studies in which biospecimen science, translational cohort development or biomarker strategy represents a substantial scientific component, Biorepository leadership may also participate as scientific collaborators on grant applications and multi-investigator research programs.
Leadership
Jeffrey A. Borgia, PhD — Director
Borgia is a translational cancer researcher whose program focuses on novel diagnostic-test development, biomarker discovery and clinically anchored molecular profiling. He founded the lung-cancer biorepository that evolved into the current Cancer Biorepository and has directed its strategic development since 2004. He also directs the Rush Biomarker Development Core, providing a complementary pathway from biospecimen acquisition and cohort design through biomarker assay development and validation.
Kelly Cagin, PhD QBRS (ASCP) — Manager of Biorepository Operations
Cagin oversees biorepository operations, specimen workflows, data coordination, and implementation of research collections. Her role bridges specimen operations with research informatics and supports the increasingly data-rich nature of translational biobanking.
Martice Herron, MS — Manager of Clinical Operations
Herron oversees clinical research operations supporting the Rush Cancer Center Biorepository, including patient recruitment, eligibility screening, informed consent, and prospective biospecimen collection. He coordinates research activities across multiple clinical specialties, manages clinical research staff and collection workflows, and collaborates with investigators and clinical teams to support protocol compliance and successful study implementation.
Start a Project
Investigators may contact the Biorepository to assess the suitability of existing collections, explore cohort feasibility or design a new collection. We will work with investigators to determine whether archived patient materials can address the study question and, when needed, help define a prospective collection strategy. For an initial consultation, it is helpful to provide:
- The scientific question or primary hypothesis
- Cancer type and desired study population
- Approximate cohort size
- Required specimen types and time points
- Key clinical or pathologic variables
- Any molecular-data requirements
- Planned downstream analyses
- Funding source and anticipated timeline. The team will then determine whether an existing collection can support the study, whether a prospective effort is needed, and what regulatory, operational, and budgetary requirements should be incorporated into the project plan. Investigators interested in existing materials are encouraged to contact the Biorepository directly to discuss specimen availability, cohort suitability, access requirements, and the anticipated cost structure for the requested resources.
Contact
Rush Cancer Biorepository
1750 W. Harrison St. Jelke Building South,
Suite 1411A Chicago, IL 60612
Director/ PI
Jeffrey A. Borgia, PhD
Email: jeffrey_a_borgia@rush.edu
Manager of Biorepository Operations
Kelly Cagin, PhD QBRS (ASCP)
Email: kelly_m_cagin@rush.edu
Manager of Clinical Operations:
Martice Herron, MS
Email: martice_a_herron@rush.edu