The Texas Heart Institute Biorepository Core Reaccredited by the College of American Pathologists
The Texas Heart Institute Biorepository and Biospecimen Profiling Core Laboratory has been reaccredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Biorepository Accreditation Program.
The facility has been accredited by the CAP program since 2015, when it became the first biorepository in Texas to receive the designation; the facility was reaccredited in 2018, 2021, and again this March.
Led by Director Camila Hochman-Mendez, MSc, PhD, and Assistant Director Lourdes Chacon-Alberty, MD, MCTM, the biorepository core stores frozen samples of tissue, blood, and other biological materials for biomedical researchers who wish to preserve them for later analysis. The core has provided sample storage and profiling services to federally funded clinical studies like the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN) and Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), as well as to independent investigators. The biorepository recently received an R24 grant award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further modernize its sample storage and handling system with the installation of a leading-edge automated liquid nitrogen (LN2) freezer workstation.
Dr. Hochman-Mendez shared, “We are honored to receive this reaccreditation, which reflects our ongoing commitment to providing state-of-the-art biorepository services and ensuring the highest standards of specimen quality and integrity for researchers. Our team is dedicated to continually advancing our capabilities and facilitating groundbreaking biomedical discoveries that can ultimately improve patient care and save lives.”
Darren Woodside, PhD, The Institute’s Vice President for Research, praised the facility’s team, stating, “Reaccreditation by the College of American Pathologists is a testament to the team’s organization, attention to detail, and quality of work. This external validation really underscores what we’ve already come to know from our Biorepository and Biospecimen Profiling Core team.”
About The Texas Heart Institute® Biorepository and Biospecimen Profiling Core Laboratory
The Texas Heart Institute Biorepository and Biospecimen Profiling Core is a biorepository for tissue, blood, plasma, serum, nucleic acids, and other biological materials, and a research core laboratory dedicated to providing storage, blood processing, and biomarker profiling services to investigators and institutions. It has been a College of American Pathologists (CAP)-accredited biorepository since 2015. The state-of-the-art, biosafety level 2 (BSL2) facility houses secure and 24-hour-monitored freezers and a separate laboratory for processing and analysis, with a dedicated cell-profiling room. The highly trained staff and on-site, full-time Quality & Compliance Specialist provide cost-efficient, customizable research support, and laboratory services to meet the needs of investigator-initiated studies, large clinical trials, and industry research using biospecimens.
About The Texas Heart Institute®
The Texas Heart Institute is an independent, nonprofit organization that is improving cardiovascular health through trailblazing research, thought leadership, education, and patient care. Located within the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1962 by renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley, The Texas Heart Institute performed the first successful heart transplant and total artificial heart implant in the United States. Since then, our physicians and surgeons remain recognized as worldwide leaders in the diagnosis and treatment of even the most complex cardiovascular conditions. Research programs at The Texas Heart Institute continue to push the boundaries of cardiovascular science by translating laboratory discovery to patient care. The Texas Heart Institute has been ranked among the top cardiovascular centers in the United States by U.S. News & World Report for more than 30 years. www.texasheart.org
