Biorepositories Program

Biorepositories are collections of biospecimens, such as tissue, blood, plasma, serum, urine, DNA, RNA and live cells, from patients and research volunteers.

There are many different types and sizes of biorepositories today at Mayo Clinic. The majority of these focus on collecting material from patients with a variety of different diseases. Others, such as the Mayo Clinic Biobank, focus on collecting material from participants who are generally healthy.

Mayo Clinic's biorepositories are unique in that most specimens are linked to patients' medical records so that researchers can compare physical samples with patient outcomes over long periods of time.

Importantly, these biorepositories are an essential resource for personalized medicine research, as they enable researchers to study and understand both health and disease. Ongoing studies for each of the scientific programs within the Center for Individualized Medicine would not be possible without access to high-quality specimens.

The Biorepositories Program has two primary goals:

  • Develop and oversee a core laboratory responsible for the processing, storage and distribution of samples accessible to all investigators at Mayo Clinic
  • Develop and oversee several biorepositories, including the Mayo Clinic Biobank, a collection of samples and information from 50,000 participants

Areas of focus

Mayo Clinic Biobank projects

Samples from the Mayo Clinic Biobank are utilized for a growing number of projects. See descriptions of biobank projects on the Mayo Clinic Biobank website.

Expanding the Mayo Clinic Biobank

Participant recruitment for the Mayo Clinic Biobank continues at the Mayo campus in Rochester, Minn. Collections have also been initiated at Mayo's campuses in both Arizona and Florida, as gathering participants from different geographical areas ensures the biobank includes a diverse range of individuals with varying risk factor backgrounds.

Biospecimen facility

A new state-of-the-art facility for the processing, storage and distribution of all types of biological samples is now under construction. This will provide a highly standardized and automated one-stop location for all existing and future biorepository specimens.

Program leaders