Expert Clinical, Pathological and Scientific Advice

The NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Biorepository Network provides researchers with efficient access to a wide range of high-quality and well-characterised tissue from across NHS Scotland for use in research. A streamlined pathway supports researchers to obtain tissue samples and discuss the design and costing of projects across a range of clinical specialties.

Autoimmune & Inflammation	Musculoskeletal
Cancer	Neurology
Cardiovascular	Ophthalmology
Dermatology	Oral & Dental
Diabetes	Orthopaedics
Gastroenterology	Paediatrics
Haematology	Regenerative Medicine
Hepatology	Renal
Mental Health Studies	Reproductive Health
Metabolic & Endocrine	Respiratory
Microbiology

NRS Biorepository Services

Logistical support for tissue collection

Tissue available from a large variety of NHS Scotland patients may have been collected as part of an approved research project or bespoke clinical trials. Each of the four biorepositories has a register of existing tissue collections that are available for new research proposals and have established existing pathways within the clinical environment for the collection of new samples. The Biorepository Managers can also look to establish new pathways to support a new tissue collection.

Specialist Advice and standardised documentation

The Biorepository teams can put you in touch with expert clinical and pathological support to identify the right cohort for your project requirements. The Network uses a variety of standardised Confidentiality Agreements and Data and Material Transfer Agreements to help provide a streamlined approach.

Tissue services

Technical and scientific staff within the biorepositories can offer advice on services that can be provided to support your research. This may include a wide variety of options: fresh sample tissue or blood processing, frozen or paraffin sectioning, and tinctorial or Immunohistochemistry staining. We can provide bespoke tissue microarray (TMA) generation or work with you to facilitate services required to be carried out on existing TMAs. We have access to a wide range of microscopy techniques with the ability to digitise images with slide scanning technology. Depending on your project requirements we may be able to support you in other ways and it is important that you discuss your project with your local biorepository manager to assess feasibility.

Contact the team for more information.