The NIH NeuroBioBank: creating opportunities for human brain research

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neurology
• Biomedical Research

Background:

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) NeuroBioBank is a federally funded resource for studying human neurologic diseases and disorders.
• Previous models for accessing postmortem human brain tissue were limited in scope and scale.
• There is a growing need for high-quality postmortem human tissues to advance understanding of the human brain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail the foundational principles and resource model behind the NIH NeuroBioBank.
• To increase the availability of high-quality postmortem human brain tissues for a wide range of neurologic conditions.
• To raise public awareness regarding the importance of human tissue donation for research.

Main Methods:

• Establishing a centralized, federally funded resource for postmortem human brain tissue.
• Implementing performance metrics to evaluate the resource's effectiveness over its initial years.
• Engaging in public outreach and providing web-based information to promote tissue donation.

Main Results:

• The NIH NeuroBioBank has successfully increased the availability of postmortem human brain tissues.
• Performance metrics from the first two years demonstrate the resource's operational success.
• Advances in biomedical neuroscience have been accelerated through the use of these human tissues.

Conclusions:

• The NIH NeuroBioBank model achieves economies of scale and broadens research access to critical human brain tissues.
• Studies utilizing postmortem human tissues are vital for understanding human-specific biology, health, and disease.
• The resource facilitates a deeper comprehension of the biological differences that define human uniqueness and disease pathologies.