Streamlining Cross-Institutional Processes: the Next Great Frontier for Supplying High-Quality Biospecimens to Translational Researchers

Translational cancer research is continuously in need of high-quality biospecimens and clinically associated data to enable research projects. While many have recognized the benefits of a process approach to manage researchers’ requests, most are less cognizant about which processes are to be considered, which sub-processes and activities are contained in each process, and how the processes interact with each other and with traditional functional silos. In order to provide a strategic and operational description of each of the four functional units of our Biospecimen Repository Facility (BRF), illustrations of the interfaces among the processes and a semi-standardized method for effective request fulfillment for development and implementation is presented. The method follows a customer service approach that integrates the BRF patient consent, biospecimen collection and distribution capabilities, operational logistics as well as the Departments of Pathology, Surgery and Clinical Data Management. The method is constantly tested and remains semi-standardized in order to be efficient, flexible to adjust based on marketing plans and changes in the oncology research land-scape, and monitored to be tracked and flagged when not meeting expected requirements. The implementation of this method has reduced wait times, ensured commitment to provide biospecimens and data based on feasibility and inventory, and researchers’ requests executed and fulfilled in an organized and efficient manner

Breaking Barriers: Cultivating a Collaborative Infrastructure in a Hybrid Academic Community Cancer Center

Cultivating an internal collaborative infrastructure is critical for the success of new initiatives that require multi-departmental and multidisciplinary services. Ensuring that the Bio-specimen Repository Facility (BRF) program at Miami Cancer Institute is logistically positioned to continuously enroll participants, collect fit-for-purpose biospecimens, and annotate them with clinical information is critical to support translational research. Five pivotal departments were identified for developing collaborative efforts: Surgery, Infusion Services, Laboratory, Pathology and the Oncology Data Warehouse team. Here we present the dynamic workflows established for patients consented in the clinical areas of Infusion and Surgery, for routine and specific biospecimen collection in the Laboratory and Pathology Departments and for complex data extraction by the Oncology Data Warehouse team. We also dis-cuss strategies used by BRF leadership to interconnect departments and encourage cooperation by focusing on the common goal, presenting issues as a problem-solving opportunity, assigning cross-functional liaisons, developing multi-functional teams for critical launches and nurturing effective communication strategies for increased productivity

Improving Tissue Procurement Processes to Efficiently Obtain Critical Biospecimens

Tumor biobanks are critical components of the biomedical research infrastructure. Biospeci-mens collected, processed and banked under strict standard operating procedures and annotat-ed with longitudinal clinical data are in high demand. The Miami Cancer Institute’s Biospecimen Repository Facility (BRF) was established to support translational research by facilitating the procurement of tumor and normal biospecimens and annotating them with relevant clinical and molecular data. For surgical cases, in order to achieve higher enrollment rates, the patient in-formed consent process was modified to include approaching patients on their day of surgery. To enhance procurement of tissue biospecimens, we examined factors influencing case identification, collection, and banking capabilities. Surgery schedules and historical performance were evaluated and, as a result, our workday expanded to accommodate collection activities for cases with delays or late start times in surgery. The Biorepository inventory was assessed by disease type and surgical procedure. We found that our highest volumes of biospecimens banked included kidney, soft tissue tumors, and lung, while our lowest volumes corresponded to head and neck, bladder, and prostate cancer. Therefore, we designed collection protocols in conjunction with the Department of Pathology to archive supplemental biospecimens from those cases where the standard of care procedure does not yield sufficient tissue for banking and for those tumor types that are not macroscopically visible, which were the main reasons for low inventory volume. Our operational adjustments have resulted in a greater overall yield of tissue biospecimens procured for research purposes