Abstract
BackgroundAdvances in technology and the ability to interrogate disease pathogenesis using systems biology approaches are exploding. As exemplified by the substantial progress in the personalized diagnosis and treatment of cancer, the application of systems biology to enable precision medicine in other disciplines such as Nephrology is well underway. Infrastructure that permits the integration of clinical data, patient biospecimens and advanced technologies is required for institutions to contribute to, and benefit from research in molecular disease classification and to devise specific and patient-oriented treatments.Methods and resultsWe describe the establishment of the Biobank for the Molecular Classification of Kidney Disease (BMCKD) at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The BMCKD consists of a fully equipped wet laboratory, an information technology infrastructure, and a formal operational, ethical and legal framework for banking human biospecimens and storing clinical data. The BMCKD first consolidated a large retrospective cohort of kidney biopsy specimens to create a population-based renal pathology database and tissue inventory of glomerular and other kidney diseases. The BMCKD will continue to prospectively bank all kidney biopsies performed in Southern Alberta. The BMCKD is equipped to perform molecular, clinical and epidemiologic studies in renal pathology. The BMCKD also developed formal biobanking procedures for human specimens such as blood, urine and nucleic acids collected for basic and clinical research studies or for advanced diagnostic technologies in clinical care. The BMCKD is guided by standard operating procedures, an ethics framework and legal agreements with stakeholders that include researchers, data custodians and patients. The design and structure of the BMCKD permits its inclusion in a wide variety of research and clinical activities.ConclusionThe BMCKD is a core multidisciplinary facility that will bridge basic and clinical research and integrate precision medicine into renal pathology and nephrology.
Highlights
Acute and chronic kidney diseases encompass a vast range of etiologies that affect patients in all demographics
In addition to the long term vision for Precision Medicine in Nephrology, the BMCKD is guided by four principal operational objectives: 1) To efficiently organize and manage retrospective and prospective human renal pathology specimens and data
History and realization of the BMCKD Renal pathology in Southern Alberta has historically been centralized at the Foothills Medical Centre and managed by the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (DPLM) at the University of Calgary and Calgary Laboratory Services (CLS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Alberta Health Services (AHS), the province-wide government health care organization
Summary
Acute and chronic kidney diseases encompass a vast range of etiologies that affect patients in all demographics. The application of genetic and molecular knowledge to the human condition is essential to further incorporate mechanistic data to existing morphologic disease classification. These two fundamental events are essential to reveal an individuals’ risk or prognosis with kidney disease, but to identify improved and targeted treatment options. In combination with well-established clinical parameters and risk models, the incorporation of genetic/molecular data into patient care is, in essence, the definition of precision (or personalized) medicine that will surmount to a substantial shift in the very nature of renal pathology and nephrology practice. Infrastructure that permits the integration of clinical data, patient biospecimens and advanced technologies is required for institutions to contribute to, and benefit from research in molecular disease classification and to devise specific and patient-oriented treatments
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