Biospecimen Science

This new area of science includes research to improve the quality of harvested tissue. Gaps of knowledge need to be filled regarding the effects of intraoperative conditions, anesthesia, tissue handling, fixation, processing and storage to improve the reliability of information from tissues. These data are critical to bring personalized medicine to all cancer patients in the larger community. Research objectives in the Knudsen lab focus on optimizing methods for tissue collection conditions for specific bioanalytes. Bioanalytes that help guide treatment decisions and that predict treatment response and resistance are prioritized.

Specific research projects:

• Conditions to stabilize protein phosphorylation during tissue fixation and sample preparation
• Pathway analysis related to c-MET in ovarian cancer tissues
• Development of a devise to track tissue acquisition parameters (i.e. time, temperature and oxygenation) during tissue harvest