Q&A With the Leaders of the Biorepository Resource Center and CHOP Biobank

The Biorepository Resource Center features a secure, redundant storage infrastructure with round-the-clock monitoring, backup power, and standard operating procedures for every contingency.

Editor's note: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute supports a variety of Core Facilities providing services ranging from high-tech solutions such as single-cell sequencing and data analysis to filling personnel-based needs for research teams. All the CHOP Cores are designed to enhance the work of our research community, enabling principal investigators and their staff to reach their project goals in partnership with the expertise of the Cores' staff. In each installment of this series called Tour the Cores, you will meet a different Core Facilities director and get acquainted with how their Core can promote your project's success.

In our latest Tour the Cores Q&A, we sit down with Robert Perkinson, Msc, Technical Director of the Biorepository Resource Center (BioRC). The BioRC staff works closely with Kate Driesbaugh, PhD, Manager of the CHOP Biobank, who joins the conversation about expanding investigators' access to the specimens and big data needed to advance translational pediatric research.

What makes the BioRC unique?

Robert Perkinson, MSc: The BioRC, established in 2012, supports an ever-expanding number of CHOP investigators and biobanking groups with high-quality specimen processing, tracking, and storage for IRB-approved studies. We are a College of American Pathologists-accredited biorepository that stores and processes human blood, blood products, nucleic acids, tissues, cells, saliva, stool, urine, cells, liquid biopsies, and organoids.

Study teams with IRB-approved protocols coordinate patient-facing consent, sample de-identification, specimen collection, and study governance while the BioRC coordinates sample retrieval and distribution through our iLab portal.

Our Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), which has been in use for more than a decade, tracks every detail of a specimen's life cycle — from collection to processing, usage, and disposal. The LIMS links derived specimens back to their parent samples, flags any important deviations, and supports seamless specimen sharing.

Our secure, redundant storage infrastructure comprises 24/7 monitoring through two independent systems, backup power, and standard operating procedures for every contingency. Freezers are backed by liquid nitrogen to protect specimen integrity, even in emergencies.

When did CHOP Biobank launch, and how does it partner with the BioRC?

Kate Driesbaugh, PhD: The CHOP Biobank was formed in 2023 to expand and enhance the biobanking efforts at CHOP by creating a resource dedicated to collaborative specimen and data sharing. We received IRB approval in October 2023 and consented the first patient on Feb. 1, 2024.

As of June 2025, the CHOP Biobank had consented more than 1,200 participants with a biospecimen collected from approximately one quarter of the participants. CHOP Biobank recruitment continues to expand throughout the CHOP community.

Launched from the CHOP Omics and Big Data Initiative, the CHOP Biobank is a disease-agnostic, institution-wide biobank designed to provide a robust biorepository of biospecimens and associated health data for CHOP investigators to advance and accelerate research. All CHOP patients and their biological relatives are eligible to participate.

There are several biobanking efforts at CHOP, most of which are disease-focused or designed to study specific research questions. The CHOP Biobank aims to fill in the gaps, so that biobanking at CHOP represents the entire CHOP patient population, including neurotypically developing children without chronic disease. The CHOP Biobank is an IRB-approved protocol and consent with extensive recruitment materials and innovative methods to educate and consent CHOP families.

Once consented, biospecimens may be collected in various ways, including residual clinical specimens, a blood tube added to a clinical draw, or a research specimen like blood or saliva. The specimens are processed and stored in the BioRC.

What equipment does the BioRC provide to store these specimens safely and systematically?

Perkinson: Our 3,000 sq. ft. facility provides traditional storage for approximately 700,000 samples housed in -80°C freezers and liquid nitrogen tanks.

We also partnered with the Center for Applied Genomics to install and operationalize two large robotic storage units. One, called the REMP, has the capacity to hold approximately 1.7 million DNA samples. A newer robotic -80°C unit, named the BIOS, holds approximately 1.3 million samples.

These automated systems are game-changers for large-scale, high-efficiency sample management with one caveat — they require operationally compatible, specific consumables.

These Society for Biomolecular Screening racks meet standards established by the American National Standards Institute and the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening to ensure compatibility and consistency across different manufacturers. These standards are critical for effective laboratory automation and high-throughput screening processes.

All BioRC facilities are located on CHOP's Philadelphia Campus. Access to and provision of BioRC services is contingent upon approval by Paula Oliver, PhD, Scientific Director for the Core Facilities at CHOP Research Institute and Chair, BioRepository Operating Committee.

What would you like potential clients to know about working with the BioRC?

Perkinson: I would like our customers to understand the importance of establishing a unique identifier that is redundantly labeled on every sample. Uniqueness enables a sample management strategy that provides the sample metadata, history, and chain of custody throughout its lifecycle.

The unique ID or Sample Delivery Group number we ascribe to every specimen and derivative provides the de-identified, searchable term linking specimen data from a patient's bedside to the research bench while ensuring anonymity. Additionally, it drives our ability to track, classify, and report on the more than 1 million samples the BioRC is accountable to keep safe and secure.

What makes the BioRC and Biobank teams exceptional?

Perkinson: The BioRC consists of a stellar team of professionals with more than 100 years of combined biorepository experience. We have in-house information technology experts who tailor the system to meet evolving needs and a project manager whose deep institutional knowledge and expertise enables continued success.

We are a collaborative and friendly group who pride ourselves in our ability to actively engage, communicate, and tailor our services to the needs of other departments. In addition to working closely with the CHOP Biobank, we partner with other Core Facilities to streamline services such as sequencing and proteomic characterization.

Driesbaugh: The CHOP Biobank also has a dedicated technician in the BioRC who collects, documents, and processes the available specimens.

We also work closely with groups across CHOP that make the CHOP Biobank possible. Our collaborative partners include the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics Translational Research Informatics Group (TRiG), Epic Research, Digital and Technology Services, the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Research Creative Services, CHOP Marketing, and clinical teams across the enterprise.

The clinical research coordinators and TRiG data analyst dedicated to the CHOP Biobank help the program build and expand with creative solutions. The team has designed innovative recruitment methods including a patient- and family-led electronic consenting process that allows families to watch an educational video and review the consent form independently. Our clinical research coordinators take great care in thoughtfully answering patient and family questions and diligently documenting consents.

Our TRiG data analyst has developed several data and reporting structures for all aspects of operations including recruitment and consent management and residual specimen collection.

How can investigators find out more information about the BioRC and CHOP Biobank?

Perkinson: The BioRC facilitates integration and enhances access to information about biorepository specimens and resources for the CHOP community of investigators. Our services support all CHOP researchers and biobanking groups in their efforts to further innovative pediatric research and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Visit the BioRC website to learn more or reach out to me directly through email.

Driesbaugh: The CHOP Biobank is a resource for the CHOP research community. We welcome input about cohorts and biospecimens of interest. We are collaborating with biobanking efforts across the Research Institute to lower barriers to specimen and data access and ensure good stewardship of the donations made by CHOP patients.

Visit the CHOP Biobank website to learn more. Investigators may contact me via email to schedule a presentation about the CHOP Biobank with their department, division, or clinical care group.

Read more about the collaboration between the CHOP Biobank and BioRC in this Cornerstone feature.

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