Biopathology Center
Positively Impacting Patient Care Through Management of High Quality Annotated Biospecimens
Biopathology Center
The Biopathology Center (BPC) is part of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (AWRI) and provides a full range of services related to biospecimen procurement, processing banking, and distribution. The BPC is accredited by the College of American Pathologists Laboratory and Biorepository Accreditation Programs (CAP LAP, CAP BAP).
Our Mission
The mission of the Biopathology Center is to support cutting-edge research and positively impact patient care through the procurement, processing, banking, and distribution of high-quality clinically-annotated biospecimens.
In 2021, Nationwide Children’s Hospital announced their new strategic plan: Leading the Journey to Best Outcomes for Children Everywhere, focusing on integrated care and research.
The Biopathology’s strategic plan is focused on Operational Excellence, Quality and Safety, Culture and Talent, Partnerships, and Technology.
Learn more about the Biopathology Center at Nationwide Children's
Our Facility
The BPC facility includes space for biospecimen accessioning, processing, and testing laboratories and biorepository space for biospecimen distribution and storage.
Meet the Biopathology Center Team
Services We Offer
The Biopathology Center offers a wide range of services related to the procurement, processing, banking, and distribution of biospecimens in support of research, including access to specialized BPC-based services (e.g., biomedical imaging [virtual microscopy/digital pathology], informatics, and kit management) and centralized shared Nationwide Children's Hospital based research resources.
Laboratory Services
Standard operating procedures and best practices, biospecimen processing and pathology review and laboratory services
Biorepository
Biospecimen storage and biospecimen distribution
Other Services
Protocol development, biospecimen kits and informatics
Affiliations and Collaborations
The Biopathology Center (BPC) aims to excel in the long-term acquisition and storage of cancer-related tissue specimens and associated data to support cutting-edge research. Primarily government-funded, the BPC partners with various research organizations to establish a robust infrastructure to support excellence in tissue banking, testing and distribution. Partnering investigators include those from the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and national cooperative cancer groups and research organizations.
The BPC houses several National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded biospecimen collection efforts, including:
- Children’s Oncology Group (COG)
- NRG Oncology Biospecimen Bank-Columbus (formerly the Gynecologic Oncology Group Tissue Bank)
- SWOG (formally known as the Southwest Oncology Group)
- Early-Phase and Experimental Clinical Trials (EET) Biobank
- Pediatric Division of the Cooperative Human Tissue Network (CHTN) For more details click here (go to document)
- Biospecimen Core Resource (BCR) of the NCI Center for Cancer Genomics
The BPC stores numerous biospecimen collections supported by other sponsors including:
- Nationwide Children’s Hospital Funded Investigators
- Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration (SARC) Foundation
- Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) Foundation
- Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS)
- Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS)
- Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) Consortium
Request Specimens
The BPC works with several cooperative groups which all require specific applications and paperwork to be submitted during the approval process. In order to access specimens from the Biopathology Center, an application will need to be completed for the cooperative group from which you wish to receive specimens. The application will provide the cooperative group your contact information and the specific specimens being requested.
To access specimens from the Biopathology Center, the following steps are needed:
- An application will need to be completed for the cooperative group from which you wish to receive specimens.
- The application will provide the cooperative group your contact information and the specific specimens being requested.
- The following links give additional information about the approval processes and paperwork for each cooperative group:
*Requests routed through National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) Navigator
To request specimens from cooperative groups not listed above or for questions regarding the application process please contact us at BPC@NationwideChildrens.org.
Additional Research Groups to Explore
Join the Biopathology Center Team
The team at the Biopathology Center is growing. Click the links below to view current job listings and to learn more about careers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.