We would like to congratulate our client on receiving a contract from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to become the Biospecimen Core Resource (BCR) providing biospecimen processing services for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The contract, which is for $19 million dollars over two years, was the sole award. Dr. Margaret Bouvier served as lead writer on the contract proposal development team at ITECS Innovative Consulting.
The Cancer Genome Atlas is a signature program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The goal of the project is to catalog genetic mutations responsible for cancer using genome sequencing and bioinformatics. Scientists perform cutting-edge genetic testing of tumors from tens of thousands of patients and dozens of different cancers, thereby improving the ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent the disease. The BCR for TCGA is central to the process of acquiring both tumor and normal tissue samples and their accompanying clinical information from contributing medical and research centers. BCR functions include analyzing all specimens to ensure they meet rigorous quality standards for each tumor type and ensuring that the clinical information for each sample is available. Once the optimal specimens are examined and processed, the BCR distributes the DNA and RNA extracted from the specimens to researchers throughout the national TCGA research network.
