YSM Biobank
Primary contact
About the Biobank
The Yale School of Medicine (YSM) Biobank is a coordinated biorepository that allows for the alignment of collected tissue, plasma, serum and genetic samples, and clinical data using common processes and information systems. It is a centrally managed, innovative, efficient, and sustainable biorepository with high-quality and extensively annotated biospecimens.
Specimen characterization and quality is performed by pathologists in the departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
While we work to establish a centralized facility for biospecimen collection, storage, and access, we continue to support the current multiple biospecimen repositories that are essential for the respective research programs on campus in their current form.
Submit a specimen or clinical data request for the YSM Biobank via REDCap.
Goals & objectives
The overarching objectives of the YSM Biobank are to support biomedical research including clinical trials, standardize how the university curates and releases data, support focused research, and serve community health initiatives.
Utilizing archived and fresh specimens as a first step, the goal of the YSM Biobank is to streamline the distribution of specimens to investigators and promote collaboration of partners across the university. The YSM Biobank will expand the collection of live cells, tissue, DNA, RNA, and proteins.
General biospecimen intake, acquisition, processing, storage, and distribution
The collection of these samples is predominantly from pathology and clinical labs, archived tissues, fresh tissues, blood, or body fluid that is to be discarded after the completion of routine diagnosis.
The collection of these specimens will be monitored based on the distribution and investigators’ need without wasting resources.
The YSM Biobank will support biospecimen needs of investigator-initiated research projects and program projects such as U-grants, P-grants, SPOREs, or biotech-sponsored projects. It will help develop SOPs and protocols to meet the specific requirements of each project.
The YSM Biobank will partner with investigators for their grant application by providing all documents pertinent to specimen collection, processing, analysis, storage, and distribution. The distribution or sharing of these specimens will be determined by the principal investigators.
Clinical trial support
The YSM Biobank will provide staffing and technical support for biospecimen collection, processing, storage, and distribution according to the specific clinical trial protocols.
With its CAP-accreditation, the YSM Biobank can serve as a central specimen storage and distribution site for multi-center clinical trials.
Existing biobank support
At Yale there are numerous existing tissue banks with many specimens and long-standing operations. These are managed by individual investigators, multi-disciplinary research teams, or a cooperative research entity such as a SPORE grant or Yale Cancer Center Disease Aligned Research Teams. With the establishment of the centralized YSM Biobank, these banks will continue in their present form under the same governance structures without disruption of existing support.
In cases of limited tissue availability, existing banks with discrete consenting processes will take precedence for tissue collection over the centralized YSM Biobank. In addition, we will offer existing tissue banks the opportunity to access the centralized YSM Biobank effort, thereby allowing the current successful banks to utilize the infrastructure, resources, and facilities of the YSM Biobank.
Yale Pathology Tissue Services (YPTS) currently has established tissue procurement capacity and methods. This capacity will be leveraged and potentially amplified as needed to provide some or all of the physical procurement of tissues. YPTS also has tissue analysis divisions and a division for clinical trial tissue support. These facilities will remain in Pathology and function in parallel with the new repository, continuing to offer tissue prep and analysis to investigators as needed once they withdraw tissues from the repository.
Steering committee
| Name | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Wade Schulz | Assistant Professor | Laboratory Medicine |
| John Kunstman | Assistant Professor of Surgery (Oncology) | Oncology—General Oncology |
| David Rimm | Anthony N. Brady Professor of Pathology and Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology) | Pathology |
| Sarah Goldberg | Associate Professor of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology) | Medical Oncology |
| Jennifer Kwan | Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine) | Cardiology |
| Bohdan Pomahac | Frank F. Kanthak Professor of Surgery (Plastics) | Plastic Surgery |
| Mario Strazzabosco | Professor of Medicine | Digestive Diseases |
| Brinda Emu | Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) | Infectious Diseases |
| Basmah Safdar | Professor of Emergency Medicine | Emergency Medicine |
Available to Yale researchers only
IRB compliance & consenting
Ensuring the highest standards of ethics and compliance is fundamental to the operations of the YSM Biobank. Our compliance and consenting procedures are designed to safeguard participants' rights and ensure that the biobank operates within the frameworks of local, national, and international regulations.
IRB compliance
You must have permission from Yale IRB to use our services. The biorepository can provide investigators with guidance and resources for IRB submission.
[Link to IRB Application Form]
Consenting
The YSM Biobank offers both traditional and digital tools to provide consent support. These can include interactive presentations and online platform to help participants understand the information, which can be more engaging and accessible than paper forms alone.
Collection & processing
At the YSM Biobank, our collection and processing protocols are designed to maximize the integrity and utility of biological samples. We adhere to rigorous standards to ensure that high-quality samples are collected, processed, and preserved.
Biospecimen types
- Surgical tissues
- Autopsied tissues
- Blood, saliva, urine, and other body fluids
Biospecimen collection
We provide comprehensive operational support to ensure high-quality, consistent biospecimen collections through the following pipelines:
- Retrospective collection: Provides researchers with access to our retrospectively collected biospecimens from a wide range of research areas including cancer, COVID, neurodegenerative diseases, etc. Please check our inventory for more details.
- Prospective collection: Offers the precision and control needed to meet evolving scientific requirements, ensuring the right samples are collected under the right conditions at the right time. Our capabilities support targeted collections across key research areas, including immunotherapy, cancer research, neurodegeneration, genetic disorders, cardiovascular disease, infectious, and rare diseases.
Biospecimen processing
The YSM Biobank offers processing services for the biospecimens collected by us:
- Freshly frozen tissue with or without preservatives
- Frozen or fixed tissue processing and embedding in OCT or FFPE block
- Sectioning, routine staining, and selected special staining
- Digital whole slide scanning
- Specimen processing for general blood and bodily fluids, including urine and swabs
Processing fees vary based on the complexity of the processing requested. Specimens are provided back to the research lab, or they can be stored in the biobank for future research use.
Storage & distribution
The YSM Biobank provides state-of-the-art storage and distribution solutions to ensure the preservation and accessibility of biological specimens for research purposes.
Biobank storage
Samples are stored at the YSM Biobank with a plan to keep them for a minimum of time measured in years. Access to samples is by a “sample pull” request submitted through ybb@yale.edu and is fulfilled in the order received. Current turnaround time for distribution is approximately one week, depending on staffing and volume of requests. Biobank storage is charged per aliquot, per month.
Services:
- Storage of blood, body fluids, and processed tissue in snap frozen, OCT, and FFPE blocks
- Ambient, 4°C, –20°C, –80°C, and liquid nitrogen sample storage
- Biospecimen temperature and physical security measures
- Bi-annual preventative maintenance and calibration
- Certificates available upon request
- 24/7 temperature monitoring
- Freezer temperature logs available upon request
- Freezers connected to backup power where available
- Bi-annual preventative maintenance and calibration
Retrieval & distribution
We support research efforts by providing timely and secure distribution of samples to authorized researchers and institutions. All distribution requests are processed following ethical guidelines and regulatory compliance to ensure proper usage.
Services:
- Packing and shipping supplies
- Courier services (FedEx, UPS, etc.)
Data access
The YSM Biobank aims to provide researchers with the data, tools and support to make discoveries which otherwise wouldn’t be possible, while ensuring all data requests will be in compliance with Yale and IRB policies and guidelines. We provide researchers unparalleled access to meticulously curated biospecimens and their associated clinical data.
Types of data:
- Imaging data
- Clinical data
- Demographic data
- Specimen verification
- Omics data
Grant support
The YSM Biobank provides comprehensive grant application support to facilitate researchers in securing funding for their projects.
The YSM Biobank will support biospecimen needs of investigator-initiated research projects and program projects such as U-grants, P-grants, SPOREs, or biotech-sponsored projects. It will help develop SOPs and protocols to meet the specific requirements of each project.
The YSM Biobank will partner with investigators for their grant application by providing all documents pertinent to specimen collection, processing, analysis, storage, and distribution. The distribution or sharing of these specimens will be determined by the principal investigators.
Inventory
Our inventory includes a diverse array of specimens, systematically cataloged for ease of access and retrieval. Detailed sample information, including collection date, type, and processing details, are maintained in our database.
Researchers can access up-to-date information on specimen availability here and our team is available to assist with inventory queries, helping researchers identify and request relevant samples for their studies.
Here is a general list of samples we currently have:
- More than 2 million archived FFPE blocks from different diseases (all tissue types)
- Nearly 1,000 formalin-fixed autopsy tissues and associated clinical data from COVID patients (all tissue types)
- More than 3,000 RNA samples from COVID patients
- More than 8,000 frozen saliva samples from COVID patients
Liquid specimen inventory
The blood/fluid portion of the biorepository began operations in 2020 and has since processed approximately 400,000 biospecimens for clinical operations, epidemiologic surveillance of COVID-19, and multiple research projects.
The biorepository currently contains over 175,000 biospecimen aliquots including blood, sera, plasma, and viral transport media.
In addition to the banked specimens, which primarily focus on COVID-19, specimens can be acquired prospectively based on specific clinical characteristics derived from the electronic health record. This approach has been used to successfully validate multiple clinical assays and support Yale researchers across multiple departments.
Contacts
Contact the YSM Biobank Operational team for questions about services, inventory, pricing, and all other questions at YBB@yale.edu.
Tissue lab:
LMP 2077
15 York Street
New Haven, CT 06510
Kien Pham
Liquid lab:
PS 511
55 Park Street
New Haven, CT 06511
David Ferguson
Director
Assistant Director
Co-Operational Manager (Tissue Lab)
-
Core/facility
Keck Biophysical Resource
As of 2026, the Keck Biophysical Resource will no longer be available for services except for NIDA investigators, who will still have access to some technologies.
Ewa Folta-Stogniew, PhD, MSc
Director (Retired) -
Core/facility
Yale Center for Molecular Discovery
We provide resources for assay development and high-throughput screening with small molecules and arrayed siRNA and sgRNA/CRISPR libraries in biochemical, cell-based and image-based assays (primarily 384-well format).
-
Core/facility
Chemical Metabolism Core
Previously called the Islet, Oxygen consumption, Mass Isotopomer flux Core (IOMIC), the Chemical Metabolism Core offers targeted and untargeted metabolomics, stable isotope-based metabolic flux analysis, quantitative metabolic panels of central carbon metabolism and adjacent pathways, measurements of cellular bioenergetics, islet isolation and functional studies. Services include study assistance and data analysis.