Samples for STR Fragment analysis can be submitted via dropbox to the CGI (sample dropbox location outside of third floor elevators of the Engineering Science Building). All submissions must be accompanied by completed online form submission found here
Please contact the CGI for a quote for STR analysis. Current cost is $127.00 per sample using the
Short Tandem Repeat (STR) Fragment Analysis
Effective January 2016, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Extramural Research (OER) revised grant application requirements as part of the program to “Enhance Rigor and Reproducibility.” Included in this requirement are four components the NIH has considered important for enhancing rigor and transparency. Among these is the “Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources”, which must be outlined in all new grant applications and implemented in grants funded from 2016 onward. To summarize the full description1, the NIH requires that resources used to conduct NIH funded research must be authenticated on a regular basis. These resources include all cell lines and other biologics, including but not limited to primary cell lines, established cell lines and those obtained from another source regardless of the source (company with their own sample authentication2, non-NIH funded material source, etc). Specifically, “If key resources have been purchased or obtained from an outside source that provided data on prior authentication, the investigator is still expected to provide their own authentication plans for these key resources.” Moreover, the authentication requirement applies to cell lines and biologics that may differ from laboratory to laboratory or may differ over time (e.g. in culture).
The NIH has not set a standard for this authentication; rather, the scientific community is empowered to provide this standard. However, the NIH has provided a recommendation that cell lines may be authenticated by chromosomal analysis and/or short tandem repeat (STR) profiling.
The CGI provides several services to meet this NIH requirement. Our newest and most affordable service is forensic-standard STR typing of samples. We also offer more detailed assessment of genome integrity using the Illumina Infinium CytoSNP 850K array.
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1 The quality of the resources used to conduct research is critical to the ability to reproduce the results. NIH expects that key biological and/or chemical resources will be regularly authenticated to ensure their identity and validity for use in the proposed studies. Key biological and/or chemical resources may or may not be generated with NIH funds and: 1) may differ from laboratory to laboratory or over time; 2) may have qualities and/or qualifications that could influence the research data; and 3) are integral to the proposed research. These include, but are not limited to, cell lines, specialty chemicals, antibodies and other biologics. Researchers should transparently report on what they have done to authenticate key resources, so that consensus can emerge.
2 http://grants.nih.gov/reproducibility/faqs.htm#4850: “If key resources have been purchased or obtained from an outside source that provided data on prior authentication, the investigator is still expected to provide their own authentication plans for these key resources.”