Coriell Institute for Medical Research - 2020 Annual Report

10/2020
The Allen Institute hiPS cell line AICS-0059 is a dual-edited line, labeling the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and nuclear envelope. A cinematographic rendering of this line using AGAVE (allencell.org) shows the ER (mEGFP-tagged Sec61 beta) in blue and the nuclear envelope (mTagRFP-T-tagged lamin B1) in teal.

It has been quite a year.

We’re pleased to report, however, that despite the many challenges imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the past fiscal year has been one of success and renewal for the Coriell Institute. 

There’s been great progress in each of our three pillars – biobanking, research, and community engagement – and we’re proud to detail them in our new annual report covering July 1, 2019 through June 30 of this year.

We renewed several of our most valued biobanking grants and contracts this year, securing our ability to continue to manage these cherished resources. In the space of just a few months, renewals were secured for the National Institute of General Medical Science’s Human Genetic Cell Repository, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s Human Genetic Resource Center, the National Institute on Aging’s Aging Cell Collection, and the Allen Cell Collection. The cell lines and DNA samples represented in these collections have been used around the world and we’re proud that these organizations continue to keep them in our care.

But Coriell is much more than a biobank. Our flagship research study, the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative, moved from a recruiting phase to one focused on analysis and research and the Camden Opioid Research Initiative, a collaborative investigation into risk factors for opioid use disorder, continues to recruit. We grew our research team with talented new scientists to bolster our work with induced pluripotent stem cells and epigenetic research.

COVID-19 did scuttle our plans for the annual Coriell Institute Science Fair, but with quick thinking and hard work, the fair did go on—virtually. Instead of presenting their project face-to-face inside of a packed gymnasium, students demonstrated their scientific prowess to judges via webcam. The event was a great success and was covered in local media.

Please read about these achievements and more in our new annual report. We’re excited by the future and cannot wait to tell you next year all that we accomplished. 


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