Mini-review of laboratory operations in biobanking: Building biobanking resources for translational research

Posted on September 2, 2020 By LabLynx Journal articles

In this 2020 article published in Frontiers in Public Health, Cicek and Olson of Mayo Clinic discuss the importance of biorepository operations and their focus on the storage and management of biospecimens. In particular, they address the importance of maintaining quality biospecimens and enacting processes and procedures that fulfill the long-term goals of biobanking institutions. After a brief introduction of biobanks and their relation to translational research, the authors discuss the various aspects that go into long-term planning for a successful biobank, including the development of standard operating procedures and staff training programs, as well as the implementation of informatics tools such as the laboratory information management system (LIMS). They conclude by emphasizing that "[b]iorepository operations require an enormous amount of support, from lab and storage space, information technology expertise, and a LIMS to logistics for biospecimen tracking, quality management systems, and appropriate facilities" in order to be most effective in their goals.

Laboratory information system requirements to manage the COVID-19 pandemic: A report from the Belgian national reference testing center

Posted on August 25, 2020 By LabLynx Journal articles

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has been in force for months, seemingly little has been published (even ahead of print) in academic journals of the technological challenges of managing the growing mountain of research and clinical diagnostic data. Weemaes et al. are one of the exceptions, with this pre-print June publication in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. The authors, from Belgium's University Hospitals Leuven, present their approach to rapidly expanding their laboratory's laboratory information system (LIS) to address the sudden workflow bottlenecks associated with COVID-19 testing. They describe how using a change management framework to rapidly drive them forward, the authors were able "to streamline sample ordering through a CPOE system, and streamline reporting by developing a database with contact details of all laboratories in Belgium," while improving epidemiological reporting and exploratory data mining of the data for scientific research. They also address the element of "meaningful use" of their LIS, which often gets overlooked.

Comprehensive analyses of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a public health virology laboratory

Posted on August 18, 2020 By LabLynx Journal articles

With COVID-19, we think of small outbreaks occurring from humans being in close proximity at restaurants, parties, and other events. But what about laboratories? Zuckerman et al. share their tale of a small COVID-19 outbreak at Israel’s Central Virology Laboratory (ICVL) in mid-March 2020 and how they used their lab tech to determine the transmission sources. With eight known individuals testing positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus overall, the researchers walk step by step through their quarantine and testing processes to "elucidate person-to-person transmission events, map individual and common mutations, and examine suspicions regarding contaminated surfaces." Their analyses found person-to-person contact—not contaminated surface contact—was the transmission path. They conclude that their overall analysis verifies the value of molecular testing and capturing complete viral genomes towards determining transmission vectors "and confirms that the strict safety regulations observed in ICVL most likely prevented further spread of the virus."