Easy glass‑slide method to save tumor DNA, RNA, and protein for cancer care
Official title: A Novel Multi-analyte Approach to Democratize Cancer Biobanking
Funded at Ge Medical Systems Information Technologies, INC · NIH-11304527 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tries a low-cost way to collect tumor cells on glass slides so people with cancer—especially at smaller hospitals—can have DNA, RNA, and protein saved for future tests.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ge Medical Systems Information Technologies, INC NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Niskayuna, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2025 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $445,962 |
| NIH project number | 5R33CA297922-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11304527 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Best candidates are people having tumor biopsy or surgery at a participating hospital or pathology lab where touch‑imprint slides can be collected.
✕Less likely to help
People without accessible solid tumor tissue (for example many blood cancers) or those who decline tissue collection would not benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
If you have a tumor sample removed during biopsy or surgery, a lab technician would press the tumor briefly onto a glass slide to make a touch imprint that is air-dried, instead of needing fresh‑frozen or complex storage. The team will use a multi‑analyte extraction technique adapted from forensic science to pull DNA, RNA, and protein from the same small slide sample, even when there are fewer than 10,000 cells. They will optimize the process for air‑dried imprints and compare results to standard fresh‑frozen and FFPE tissue to show it works as well. The goal is to let smaller or low‑resource hospitals collect useful molecular material and increase sample diversity in cancer research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could make molecular testing and research samples more available to patients treated at smaller hospitals and increase representation of underserved populations.
How similar studies have gone: The multi‑analyte extraction method is grounded in proven forensic protocols, but using touch‑imprint slides for clinical biobanking is relatively new and requires clinical validation.
Where this research is happening
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Ge Medical Systems Information Technologies, INC
Niskayuna, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Davis, Brian Michael — Ge Medical Systems Information Technologies, INC
- Study coordinator: Davis, Brian Michael
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.