The Coriell Institute for Medical Research in Camden has been awarded a $7.7 million contract for medical research by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health.
The five-year award will support the NINDS Human Genetics Resource Center, a collection of biological samples and genetic data for research. The repository includes samples from subjects with various diseases such as cerebrovascular disease, epilepsy, Tourette Syndrome and more.
Coriell is home to one of the most diverse biobanks, it said, and has been a contractor for the NINDS center since it opened in 2002.
“The NINDS Human Genetics Resource Center has proven to be invaluable for researchers,” Laura Scheinfeldt, a principal research scientist at Coriell and the principal investigator of the collection. “This collection offers tens of thousands of biospecimens representing several neurological disorders and population controls. Scientists investigating the genetic contribution to these maladies and developing diagnostic tools and treatments have access to these trusted biological materials through the resource.”
The award will suport sample processing, storage and distribution as well as expanding the collection. It also includes funding to continue connecting biospecimens to genomic data stored in the NIH database of Genotypes and Phenotypes.
