2022 Fall/Winter Highlights of Hope

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RESEARCH Supporting science, a sample at a time Science can’t happen without samples. Tissue, blood, saliva and other materials are among the biological specimens that allow scientists to investigate how our bodies work when they’re healthy, how they change when affected by disease and how we can better prevent, predict, diagnose and treat conditions such as cancer and Parkinson’s. That’s one reason why it is incredibly important that biological samples be treated with utmost care and consistency from start to finish. It’s a mammoth task, both in scope and complexity, that requires specialized expertise in many different disciplines. Enter biorepositories. In a broad sense, biorepositories are storehouses for biological samples (also called biospecimens). But they are so much more than that. Biorepositories, and the dedicated scientists who staff them, are responsible for collecting, processing, cataloging and storing samples, and for ensuring that their use is in line with ethical standards. At Van Andel Institute, we’re fortunate to have our own Biorepository that houses more than 215,000 frozen specimens and approximately 1,000,000 fixed specimens that have been chemically preserved. It has a major impact on research in Grand Rapids, as well as across the U.S. and abroad, thanks in part to involvement with several large-scale, collaborative projects spearheaded by the National Institutes of Health and other leading research groups. Samples housed at VAI have helped illuminate new insights into the origins of cancer and rare diseases like tuberous sclerosis complex. They help power clinical trials and reveal how new medications work behind the scenes to combat disease. And they have revealed breakthroughs in our understanding of the genetic code, the instruction manual for life. “Biospecimens are the bedrock of scientific research — without them, we wouldn’t be able to study cancer or develop new treatments and diagnostics,” said Dr. Scott Jewell, director of VAI’s Pathology and Biorepository Core. “Our Biorepository, right here in Grand Rapids, powers breakthroughs across the U.S. by ensuring our collaborators have the samples they need to do their lifechanging work.” The Biorepository’s commitment to excellence is reflected in its accreditation by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) (no. 8017856), the world’s largest organization of board-certified pathologists and leading provider of laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing programs. Accreditation provides objective assurance that VAI meets or exceeds the high standards set by CAP. 14 | VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE HIGHLIGHTS OF HOPE
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Page 11 and 12: Elevating research through curiosit
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Page 29 and 30: “You get to connect to the Instit
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Page 33 and 34: Board of Governors Dinner This annu
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Page 37 and 38: PHILANTHROPY Thank you to our gener
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2022 Fall/Winter Highlights of Hope

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