University of Iowa-based cell bank a go-to source for researchers

By Vanessa Miller, The Gazette

November 14, 2014 | 12:01 am

IOWA CITY Crammed into the third floor and basement of the University of Iowas Biology Building East are 3,000-some antibody-producing cells called hybridomas, tens of thousands of samples of the antibodies they produce and one-of-a-kind cancer research laboratories, as well as Iowas best kept secret.

Or maybe not.

The UI-based Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank (DSHB) the largest not-for-profit bank of its kind in the world has 100,000-plus customers, distributes about 68,000 samples annually, houses the only three-dimensional tumor reconstruction equipment, and has brought the university $17 million over the past eight years.

This is the most famous resource the university has, said UI biology professor David Soll, who now directs the bank.

But few people outside the world of research including Iowans and members of the UI community know it exists.

Its the best kept secret in Iowa, Soll said. But we are growing at an incredible rate.

This week, the bank is receiving about 450 characterized hybridomas increasing its salable collection by 25 to 30 percent from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, which is off-loading due to research budget cuts.

And, Soll said, the bank expects to receive another shipment about that size in the coming weeks increasing its collection to near 4,000.

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University of Iowa-based cell bank a go-to source for researchers