BIOMEDICAL ASSAY LABORATORY FOR THE DIVISION OF INTRAMURAL POPULATION HEALTH RESEARCH

The division of Intramural Population Health Research (DIPHR) conducts research on a variety of topics pertaining to human reproduction and development, child and adolescent health and behavior, and care of pregnant women, among other topics. Both observational and interventional research studies are designed and are implemented by DIPHR scientists, and most research includes collection of a diverse array of data and bio specimens. All bio specimens are collected using approved protocols and are de-identified prior to banking in NICHD-supported repositories. The contractor shall receive no identifying or personal health information about the study subjects. A wide range of specimen types are collected including whole blood, cord blood, buffy coats, plasma, serum, urine, saliva, tissues (e.g. placenta, omental fat), hair, nail clippings, follicular and seminal fluid, semen, and new born blood spots. DIPHR requires analysis of this diverse collection of specimen types for a multitude of factors, including concentrations of reproductive and other hormones; dietary biomarkers; cytokines; indicators of metabolic function including analysis; RNA isolation for use in expression arrays; and proteome analysis. DIPHR requires analysis of collected biological specimens including blood (plasma, serum, WBC, etc.), urine, saliva, adipose tissue, follicular fluid, seminal fluid, and other biologic material relevant for specific research initiatives. Proposed analyses include measurement of concentrations of steroid hormones; assay of total and allergen-specific IgE; expression array analysis of cell-sorted T cell subpopulations; extraction of DNA from whole blood and blood spots; measurement of urinary leukotrienes; purification of DNA from saliva; identification of naturally occurring phytoestrogens and metabolites; the flexibility to measure different analytes using multipex and ELISA techniques; and quantification of metabolomics, proteomics, and genome-wide association studies.