Core Co-Directors:
Simion I. Chiosea, MD
Rivka Colen, MD
Raja Seethala, MD
The Tissue/Histology/Imaging Core is a central repository of blood, tissue, and imaging resources for all investigators in the SPORE and collaborators within and outside of the institution. In all, the Core provides access to banked biospecimens from more than 12,000 patients. Building upon 16 years of experience, the Core facilitates prospective specimen collection, including blood and tissue from primary and recurrent HNSCC under an IRB-approved protocol that has been in place since 1999, and performs sample preparation, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and whole exome sequencing.
To support the projects in the current SPORE renewal cycle, the Core has incorporated additional technologies, including bulk and single cell RNA sequencing, multi-parametric flow cytometry and multi-spectral imaging, with newly acquired state-of-the-art instrumentation, including Aurora Cytek, CODEX, and Vectra Polaris. Also new to the Core is integration of patient standard-of-care CT images and radiomics into a seamless workflow. The Core leverages the expertise, instrumentation, and services of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center’s Tissue and Research Pathology Services, Cancer Genomics Facility, Cytometry Facility, Immunologic Monitoring and Cellular Products Laboratory, and In Vivo Imaging Facility, which are vetted shared resources that receive Cancer Center Support Grant funding from the NCI.
