The GW Biorepository Core participates in national and international research networks that require standardized, compliant biospecimen processing and storage infrastructure. These collaborations support clinical trials, translational research, and regulatory-grade specimen banking across oncology, infectious diseases, and vaccine development.
The GW Biorepository Core supports multi-institutional clinical and translational research through long-standing collaborations with national and international research networks, academic medical centers, federal agencies, and industry partners. These partnerships enable standardized biospecimen processing, storage, distribution, and inventory management for complex clinical trials and large multi-site studies.
Jump to: ACSR | AMC | VRU | IAVI
AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource (ACSR)
The GW Biorepository serves as the primary biorepository under the NCI-funded AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource (ACSR) contract, a national program that supports translational research in HIV-associated malignancies.
Through this role, GW provides centralized specimen processing, long-term storage, and distribution infrastructure for investigators worldwide. The program operates in close collaboration with partner institutions including:
- University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
- University of Arizona Cancer Center
- Moffitt Cancer Center
- International ACSR biorepository sites in
- Cape Town, South Africa
- São Paulo, Brazil
In addition to storage and distribution, the GW Biorepository provides oversight, harmonization of procedures, quality management, and regulatory compliance support across the ACSR network to ensure that biospecimens collected at all sites meet uniform standards suitable for clinical, translational, and regulatory research.
More information: https://acsr1.com/
The Consortium for Advancing Management and Prevention of Cancer in People with HIV (AMC),
National Cancer Institute-supported clinical trials group founded in 1995 to support innovative trials for HIV-related cancers.
The GW Biorepository collaborates closely with the AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC), an NCI- supported clinical trials network dedicated to the prevention and treatment of cancers in people living with HIV.
Through this collaboration, the Biorepository provides:
- Specimen processing for AMC clinical trials
- Long-term storage of protocol specimens
- Inventory management and traceability
- Support for correlative science and biomarker studies
- Specimen distribution to approved investigators
The Biorepository works with AMC sites across the United States and internationally to ensure standardized handling of biospecimens required for modern oncology and translational research studies.
More information: https://amcoperations.com/
George Washington University Vaccine Research Unit (VRU)
The GW Biorepository has a 20-year collaboration with the George Washington University Vaccine Research Unit, providing biospecimen processing and storage support for more than 30 clinical trials, including first-in-human, Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III studies.
The core has particular expertise in supporting Phase I clinical trials, where precise specimen handling, rapid processing, and strict regulatory compliance are essential.
Studies supported have included vaccines for:
- HIV
- Ebola (including Sudan strain)
- Marburg virus
- Lassa fever
- RSV
- COVID-19
- Other emerging infectious diseases
The Biorepository provides processing and storage for complex specimen types including:
- Large-volume blood collections
- Leukapheresis products
- Ultrasound-guided lymph node fine-needle aspirates
- PBMC isolation and cryopreservation
- Serum, plasma, and tissue specimens
The GW Vaccine Research Unit collaborates closely with NIH, including NIAID and the Vaccine
Research Center (VRC), as well as industry and federal sponsors.
More information: https://gwvru.smhs.gwu.edu/
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)
The GW Biorepository serves as a central biorepository for multiple International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) clinical trials, supporting both U.S. and international study sites.
In this role, the Biorepository:
- Receives specimens from domestic and international clinical sites
- Processes and cryopreserves samples using standardized protocols
- Maintains long-term monitored storage
- Distributes specimens to approved investigators
- Ensures equitable access to samples across collaborating institutions
This centralized model allows complex multi-site vaccine trials to operate with consistent specimen handling and full traceability, meeting the requirements of regulatory-grade clinical research.
More information: https://www.iavi.org