Purpose, Partnership, and Possibilities: The Implementation of the Dog Aging Project Biobank

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Science
• Genomics
• Biobanking

Background:

• Biobanks are crucial for longitudinal studies, providing standardized biological material and data.
• The Dog Aging Project (DAP) is a large-scale longitudinal study of domestic dogs with human translational applications.
• This study details the development of a canine biobank within the DAP.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the establishment and operation of the Dog Aging Project (DAP) biobank.
• To outline the processes for collecting, processing, storing, and distributing canine biospecimens and data.
• To highlight strategies for biobanking sustainability and research support.

Main Methods:

• Collaboration with the ISO 20387:2018 accredited Cornell Veterinary Biobank.
• Implementation of a pilot phase to optimize biospecimen workflows.
• Collection, processing, and banking of canine specimens and associated preanalytical data.

Main Results:

• The DAP Biobank stored numerous aliquots of whole blood, PBMCs, plasma, and serum.
• High molecular weight genomic DNA was extracted for whole-genome sequencing.
• Specimens and data are available for distribution to researchers.

Conclusions:

• The DAP Biobank successfully developed and implemented workflows for canine biospecimen management.
• Challenges and opportunities in biobanking implementation were identified.
• Strategies for sustainability, including quality assurance, marketing, and pilot grants, were proposed.