Annual Report to Stakeholders 2011-2012 - Siteman Cancer Center ...

Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD)
on a rolling basis, follow-up data will be collected and the project team will begin
preliminary data and manuscript preparation.
Funding
National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (U54 CA153460)
Project Staff
Aimee James, PhD, MPH, MA (Primary Investigator, Washington University)
Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH (Co-Investigator, Washington University)
Jean Wang, MD, PhD (Co-Investigator, Washington University)
Yan Yan, MD, PhD (Co-Investigator, Washington University)
Colorectal Cancer Community Partnership (Collaborators)
Matthew Brown, MPH (Research Study Coordinator)
Contact Information
Aimee James, PhD, MPH
314-454-8300
jamesai@WUSTL.EDU
Assessing barriers to participation in tissue research (2010 – present)
Overview
Biospecimens are materials taken from the human body, such as tissue, blood,
plasma and urine. They contain DNA, proteins and other molecules important for
understanding disease progression. When patients have a biopsy, surgery or other
procedure, and they give permission, a small amount of the specimen removed can
be stored and used later for research.
Over the past several years, the National Cancer Institute has undertaken an
intensive process to establish guiding principles for the collection, storage, retrieval
and distribution of biospecimens for research. Biorepositories, or biobanks, are
libraries where biospecimens are stored and made available for scientists to study
for clinical or research purposes. A high priority for biorepositories is to protect the
privacy and sanctity of personal and medical information.
Biorepositories have the potential to improve treatments and therapies for a number
of conditions, many of which are more prevalent among minorities and underserved
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