The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) High-throughput Sequencing Facility (HTSF) proposes to become a Genome Characterization Center (GCC) for production of RNA sequencing data (RNAseq) from cancer related samples. Cancer is a heterogeneous collection of diseases with a wide variety of outcomes, natural histories and responses to therapy. Recent data show that nucleic acid-based biomarkers are invaluable tools for understanding, preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer. Genome-wide gene expression profiling of tumors is an extremely important data type that can identify distinct subtypes of disease and provide additional support for the identification of the genetic drivers of cancers. The UNC HTSF has provided high quality, comprehensive RNAseq data from tumor and related samples for more than a decade. HTSF was the primary RNAseq GCC for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project, which comprehensively cataloged the genomic and (epi)genetic alterations associated with 28 human cancers. Since the end of TCGA, UNC has continued to serve as the primary sub-contractor for RNAseq for Leidos Biomedical Research (LBR). In this role, it has sequenced RNA from thousands of RNA samples in support of several NCI projects. From this past work, HTSF has developed robust and reproducible protocols for miRNA, mRNA and Total RNA sequencing from fresh frozen and FFPE RNA, sophisticated sample tracking, and innovative analysis algorithm role to the samples described in this RFP.