Nervous System Tumor Bank

NSTB site

Mission

The Northwestern University Nervous System Tumor Bank (NSTB) provides researchers with high-quality patient-derived biospecimens (tissues, cells, blood) to support preclinical and translational neuro-oncology research. We offer a comprehensive platform for biospecimen and data banking, including protocol and informed consent tracking, sample annotation, inventory management, and integration with sample processing and analysis technologies.

Services Offered

Human Blood

• PBMC – collected from sodium heparin blood tubes using a standard Ficoll separation gradient and frozen in a 9:1 ratio of FBS:DMSO.  Samples are stored in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen.
• Plasma – platelet poor plasma collected from an EDTA collection tube.  Samples are stored at -80 C.
• Whole Blood – collected in vacutainer of researcher’s choosing.

Human Tumor Tissue

• Tumor Tissue – Fresh
• Tumor Tissue – Frozen – stored in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen with no preservatives.
• Meningioma Cell Line -  patient derived cell line established within the NSTB.  Cells are frozen in a 7:2:1 ratio of media:FBS:DMSO.
• GBM Cell Line – patient derived cell line established within the NSTB.  Cells are frozen in a 7:2:1 ratio of media:FBS:DMSO.

Slide Staining

• H&E Stain – standard H&E stain and includes review by Dr. Horbinski, a board certified pathologist.
• Immunohistochemistry Stain – includes consultation with our histology specialist, manual processing, and review by Dr. Horbinski, a board certified pathologist.
• Immunofluorescence - includes consultation with our histology specialist, manual processing, and review by Dr. Horbinski, a board certified pathologist.
• RNA In Situ Hybridization – consult for specific probes required.
• Unstained Slide
• Other Miscellaneous Stain – other or additional histology work not covered by the above categories.
• Autopsy case sectioning - Unstained slides from autopsy cases

Data Acquisition

• REDcap NSTB project query – checking availability within the NSTB and curating custom data reports.
• NMH Patient Chart Review – gathering data from hospital records and delivered in a de-identified format.

Specimen Collection

• Specimen pickup and honest broker services – specimen collection for projects where an honest broker is needed to de-identify the samples.