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ECHO Laboratory Core at Vanderbilt for Integrated Sample Biobanking and Processing

Award Number: U24OD035523
ORGANIZATION: OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, NIH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2030

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ECHO Laboratory Core at Vanderbilt for Integrated Sample Biobanking and Processing - SUMMARY Early-life environmental exposures (e.g., social-environmental, parental risk factors, nicotine, diet, infection) are increasingly implicated in the early pathogenesis of childhood diseases that have life-long consequences. Mechanisms linking these exposures to longer-term outcomes remain limited. In 2016, the NIH established the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, a collaborative multi-dimensional research initiative to characterize the impact of early-life environmental factors on childhood health (>70 cohorts, >50K participants). While targeted assays within ECHO are likely to lead to disease-specific insight, broad, comprehensive, unbiased assessment of the molecular space for novel discovery—a key mission of ECHO— will necessitate centralization of biobanking efforts/laboratory management with capability for high-throughput “OMICs”/non-“OMICs” assay as well as novel assay development, bioinformatics, and cloud architecture/data sharing for collaborative science. In response to RFA-OD-22-016, Vanderbilt will address this need by establishing the ECHO Laboratory Core at Vanderbilt for Integrated Sample Biobanking and Processing (ELVIS). ELVIS facilitates the collection and processing of biospecimens; manages the biorepository; performs a wide range of biospecimen assays (including novel development), and coordinates metadata and assay data transfer to the Coordinating Center. ELVIS is organized in core “resources” to provide leadership/integration to manage ECHO biobanking, assay performance, and data delivery: (1) administrative/LIMS/biobanking; (2) metabolomics; (3) proteomics; (4) nucleic acid assessment; (5) metagenomics; (6) bioinformatics/study design. We are uniquely positioned for this initiative, leveraging Vanderbilt’s unique long-term strategic investment in functional biobanking and assay: (1) large-scale, reliable biorepository receipt and laboratory management (“LIMS”) capability (>350K patients currently with biospecimens; many other NIH funded biobanks); (2) nationally recognized systems for clinical metadata capture (REDCap, REDBrics; used in NIH initiatives, like All of Us); (3) cutting-edge laboratory cores with capability for novel assay development/validation. We will establish harmonized protocols and workflow for ECHO cohort biospecimen collection and tracking infrastructure from the point of sample collection to long-term storage (Aim 1); perform high-quality, well-powered multi-OMICs and targeted assays to identify molecular correlates of disease trajectories in early life (Aim 2), and provide comprehensive data management platform to facilitate integrated data analysis (Aim 3). ELVIS is an ideal mechanism for ECHO given (1) deep, funded experience in handling the requisite sample sizes in banking and high-throughput assay, including quality assurance measures; (2) prior track record in ECHO to ensure ECHO- specific metadata collection, curation, and harmonization; (3) secure methods for cloud infrastructure for data analysis pipelines and data flow to clinical sites and data analysis center. Successful completion will enable the success of ECHO’s mission to discover molecular underpinnings of early childhood determinants of disease.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2026	2025	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	1161 21ST AVE S STE D3300 MCN	NASHVILLE	TN	37232	DAVIDSON	USA	Trans-NIH Research Support	000	3	12/16/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $3,800,000 )
2025	2025	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	1161 21ST AVE S STE D3300 MCN	NASHVILLE	TN	37232	DAVIDSON	USA	Trans-NIH Research Support	002	3	9/2/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$2,849,999
2025	2025	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	1161 21ST AVE S STE D3300 MCN	NASHVILLE	TN	37232	DAVIDSON	USA	Trans-NIH Research Support	001	3	8/8/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$950,001
2025	2024	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	1161 21ST AVE S STE D3300 MCN	NASHVILLE	TN	37232	DAVIDSON	USA	Trans-NIH Research Support	000	2	4/28/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $3,800,000

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $13,799,987 )
2024	2024	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	1161 21ST AVE S STE D3300 MCN	NASHVILLE	TN	37232	DAVIDSON	USA	Trans-NIH Research Support	000	2	6/10/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$13,799,987
														Subtotal = $13,799,987

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $7,299,989 )
2023	2023	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	1161 21ST AVE S STE D3300 MCN	NASHVILLE	TN	37232	DAVIDSON	USA	Trans-NIH Research Support	000	1	8/25/2023	NEW	$7,299,989
														Subtotal = $7,299,989

Grand Total All Awards = $24,899,976

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ECHO Laboratory Core at Vanderbilt for Integrated Sample Biobanking and Processing

Award Number: U24OD035523

ORGANIZATION: OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, NIH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2030

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