Pathology Peer Review and Pathology Support for the DNTP and DIR at NIEHS (EPL)

Experimental Pathology Laboratories, Sterling VA

Investigators

Abstract

The subject contract was established to provide a broad range of routine and specialized pathology services in support of studies conducted under contract by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and for supplemental studies on pathology specimens generated through these studies. The contract also provides critical pathology (including molecular pathology) support for studies conducted by in-house investigators at NIEHS and other NIEHS contract studies. Specifically, the following services are supported by this contract: 1) necropsy and in-house necropsy assistance; 2) histology (tissue trimming and processing, slide preparation, and staining); 3) histopathological evaluation/interpretation; 4) application of specialized qualitative and quantitative morphological procedures (immunohistochemistry, morphometrics, cell proliferation, apoptosis, electron microscopy); 5) adaptation, development, refinement, application of new techniques in cellular and molecular biology including (but not limited to) genotyping, DNA sequencing, in situ hybridization, DNA and RNA isolation and amplification, and real time, quantitative, and in situ PCR, as well as training in the application of these techniques; 6) Pathology Peer Review (including Pathology Data Review [PDR], Audit of Pathology Specimens [APS], Quality Assessment of pathology evaluations and Pathology Working Group Coordination [QA/PWG]) and technical support for these activities; 7) pathology data entry; 8) presentation or publication of pathology data or techniques, or support for these activities; 9) on-site pathology support, and 10) support for the clinical pathology group (data review, data archiving). The following work was completed for the National Toxicology Program and the NIEHS on this contract in the past year: four QA/PWG reviews; one Data Entry; one initial histopathology evaluation of an NTP immunotoxicity study; two projects for preparation of histologic slides and two projects for preparation of materials for inclusion in scientific publications or presentations. In addition, there are several projects for the NTP and NIEHS that are in progress. On-site contract support was provided by two pathologists, one PhD ultrastructural biologist and one a and two technical staff. One of the pathologists participated in several PWGs reviews, oversaw the pathology peer review for several studies, contributed significantly to preparation and revisions of the NTP Nonneoplastic Lesion Atlas and has presented the results of NTP studies to the NTP Board of Scientific Counselors Technical Reports Subcommittee. The second onsite pathologist has led or contributed to numerous molecular pathology projects. In addition, an onsite administrative/technical support staff in the Clinical Pathology Group performed was quality control review or data archiving several NTP studies and also assisted in tracking and coordinating the flow of data and records in the NTP Pathology Data Coordination Unit..