OB/GYN Biobanks
Email: mgbobgynresearchinquiries@mgb.org
Overview
The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mass General Brigham supports a coordinated portfolio of biobanks, data repositories, and longitudinal cohort studies that enable translational research across reproductive health. These resources provide investigators with access to high-quality biospecimens linked to deeply phenotyped clinical, epidemiologic, and outcomes data.
Together, these biobanks support research spanning pregnancy, gynecologic disease, and women’s cancers. Through standardized specimen collection, rigorous governance, and integrated data infrastructure, they enable biomarker discovery, mechanistic insight, and the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
These efforts are strengthened by collaboration across Mass General Brigham, allowing investigators to leverage shared resources to advance high-impact, interdisciplinary research.
Biobanks and data repositories
This biobank supports prospective research in pregnancy through systematic collection of maternal biospecimens across pregnancy and at delivery, annotated with carefully curated longitudinal clinical data. All samples can also be linked to the electronic health record to ascertain future clinical outcomes. Samples collected during pregnancy enable investigation of biologic pathways underlying pregnancy complications and maternal health outcomes.
This infrastructure supports translational research focused on improving prediction, prevention, and management of adverse pregnancy outcomes. This biobank is led by Dr. Andrea Edlow and Dr. Bill Barth. Together with the LifeCodes pregnancy biobank, the MGB pregnancy biobanks contain samples from over 10,000 pregnancies. To learn more about BUMP or get involved, please click here.
The LifeCodes Cohort is one of the nation’s largest pregnancy cohorts and specimen banks. This extensive biobank includes maternal blood, urine, and placental samples collected during pregnancy.
LifeCodes supports research on biomarkers associated with pregnancy complications such as spontaneous preterm birth and preeclampsia, as well as investigation of environmental exposures and toxic substances affecting reproductive outcomes. The cohort has contributed to foundational research in environmental reproductive health. This biobank is led by Dr. Thomas McElrath and Dr. David Cantonwine.
The Gynecologic Tissue Repository, located within the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, supports research focused on women’s cancers and gynecologic disease.
This biobank, led by Dr. Bo Rueda, provides access to well-annotated tissue specimens that enable investigation into cancer prevention, early detection, treatment response, and mechanisms of drug resistance. The repository plays a central role in advancing translational research in gynecologic oncology.