The Biobank and Immunohistochemical Platform of the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau – IIB Sant Pau, coordinated by Dr. Elena Serrano Carballal, is a support platform for biomedical research whose main function is the processing of biological samples according to quality criteria.
IIB Sant Pau Biobank’s mission is to obtain, process, store, manage and make available to the scientific community human biological samples and associated data, in accordance with agreed standard working procedures, as well as maintaining the traceability of the sample and its associated data, in order to promote quality biomedical research, respecting the rights of donors.
As a user of this platform, Dr. Silvia Vidal, head of the Inflammatory Diseases research group at IIB Sant Pau, highlighted the quality and usefulness of this services for her research group.
“At Sant Pau’s Biobank, they have valued the importance of storing valuable samples in suitable facilities for this purpose. Thanks to this service, we have been able to store everything from plasma, serums to viable cells with the highest guarantees. Also, when we need samples that were deposited, they informed us how to obtain them following the established procedure”.
The objective of the Biobank IIB Sant Pau is to increase the accessibility of human biological samples to applicant researchers so that they can use them in their research projects, as long as they meet the ethical and legal requirements required by current legislation.
On the other hand, the Immunohistochemistry laboratories of the Biobank and Immunohistochemistry Platform offer biological sample processing services, both of human origin and animal models, for analysis using histological techniques, from sample processing, cutting and staining to digitalization of the preparations, histological analysis and delivery of results. The Platform offers the possibility of implementing new histological methods and stains, according to the demand and needs of our users, both internal and external. In addition, user training is carried out so that they can use the platform’s equipment in a self-service mode.
Dr. María Virtudes Céspedes, head of Gynecologic and Peritoneal Oncology research group at IIB Sant Pau underlines the importance of the wide portfolio of techniques, that helped her research group to achieve their goals and optimize resources.
“We appreciate and support 100% this platform leaded by Dr. Elena Serrano. Counting on the services offered by the Biobank Platform makes it easier for us to achieve the objectives set out in our projects and allows us to advance in our experimentation. The implementation of the infrastructure and equipment, the wide portfolio of histological and immunohistochemical techniques, and the complex statistical analysis they offer would not be assumed by the research group, so we consider it very necessary, allowing us to optimize our resources to the maximum.
Combined with the responsibility they show in their work and the close and open treatment, it makes our day-to-day work easier and allows us to get results. In the last years that, as a research group, we have collaborated with its manager and his team, they have worked on 5 different projects, in which the Biobank platform has contributed enormously to obtaining relevant results, which have been published or are in the process of being published”.
Find here more information about the IIB Sant Pau Biobank and Immunohistochemical Platform or contact Dr. Elena Serrano, our Biobank and Immunohistochemical Platform Coordinator.
