The chernobyl tissue bank - a repository for biomaterial and data used in integrative and systems biology modeling the human response to radiation.
The only unequivocal radiological effect of the Chernobyl accident on human health is the increase in thyroid cancer in those exposed in childhood or early adolescence. In response to the scientific interest in studying the molecular biology of thyroid cancer post Chernobyl, the Chernobyl Tissue Bank (CTB: www.chernobyltissuebank.com) was established in 1998. Thus far it is has collected biological samples from 3,861 individuals, and provided 27 research projects with 11,254 samples. The CTB was designed from its outset as a resource to promote the integration of research and clinical data to facilitate a systems biology approach to radiation related thyroid cancer. The project has therefore developed as a multidisciplinary collaboration between clinicians, dosimetrists, molecular biologists and bioinformaticians and serves as a paradigm for tissue banking in the omics era.
Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0HS, UK. gerry.thomas@imperial.ac.uk.
Geraldine
G
Thomas
Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0HS, UK. k.unger@imperial.ac.uk.
Kristian
K
Unger
Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0HS, UK. m.krznaric@imperial.ac.uk.
Marko
M
Krznaric
Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0HS, UK. a.galpine@imperial.ac.uk.
Angela
A
Galpine
Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0HS, UK. j.bethel@imperial.ac.uk.
Jackie
J
Bethel
Bioinformatics Support Service, Imperial College London, Sir Ernest Chain Building, Division of Molecular Biosciences, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. chris.tomlinson@imperial.ac.uk.
Christopher
C
Tomlinson
Bioinformatics Support Service, Imperial College London, Sir Ernest Chain Building, Division of Molecular Biosciences, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. m.woodbridge@imperial.ac.uk.
Mark
M
Woodbridge
Bioinformatics Support Service, Imperial College London, Sir Ernest Chain Building, Division of Molecular Biosciences, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. s.butcher@imperial.ac.uk.
Sarah
S
Butcher