GSDM Explores Biorepository Collaboration with Erie County Medical Center

On February 1, 2016, Dr. Jennifer Frustino met with researchers at the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) to explore biospecimen repository collaboration opportunities. Dr. Frustino is the Director of Oral Cancer Screening and Diagnostics in the Division of Oral Oncology and Maxillofacial Prosthetics at Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, New York. Previously, she worked at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Erie County Medical Center recently established an Oral Cancer Screening Program, and is collecting biopsies, buccal cells, and microbiota. Dr. Frustino and her colleagues are collecting many biospecimens from their diverse patient group and have been looking for a collaborative partner with the infrastructure to analyze the collected samples.

After initial talks with Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska, Associate Dean for Research at GSDM, Dr. Frustino scheduled a visit to explore the opportunity for GSDM to collaborate with Erie County Medical Center on this important project. The collaboration will specifically focus on identifying genomic signatures in potentially malignant oral disorders and cancer.

During her visit, Dr. Frustino delivered a presentation to members of the Etiology & Pathogenesis of Oral Cancer (EPOC) ARC and other interested faculty. She discussed the background of the biorepository as well as how the biorepository may facilitate future research. The presentation was titled “A Biorepository and Database for Identifying Biomarkers for Oral Cancer: Accomplishments and Future Directions.”

Dr. Frustino also had individual meetings with a number of faculty members to discuss their research interests and opportunities in the biospecimen analysis process. There was a high level of interest from faculty in the collaboration, and over half a dozen GSDM researchers will be participating in the collaboration going forward.

“We’re excited about this new collaboration with Dr. Frustino,” said Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska. “The analysis of these samples will benefit both Erie County Medical Center and Boston University, and will be invaluable to our research on head and neck cancer. We look forward to a long and productive collaboration.”

“I would like to thank Dr. Frustino for choosing to meet with researches at GSDM to discuss opportunities for collaboration with her work on the biorepository,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “I am sure these collaborations will be incredibly beneficial to both Dr. Frustino and to GSDM.”