# Laboratory of Developmental Biology

> **NIH NIH R24** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $786,163

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
In existence for more than 50 years, the Birth Defects Research Laboratory (BDRL) is now the only NIH-
funded fetal tissue repository available to scientific recipients in the US. It is therefore a crucial scientific
resource to retain for facilitating biomedical research, especially since alternative commercial laboratories
are embroiled in controversy related to accusations of trade in fetal tissues. The scientific importance of
fetal tissues to scientific research progress and health care is highlighted in a recent high profile Nature
news-feature article (PMID 26659164). In fiscal year 2014, NIH funded 164 projects that utilized fetal
tissues for a total expenditure of $76 million, with our laboratory as the only NIH fetal tissue repository,
being the primary resource for many of these projects. The track record and success of the BDRL has
therefore been proven many times over in its consistent provision of a host of scientific recipient-related
services with fetal tissues, fully compliant with strict ethical and research guidelines, without misdemeanor.
Spectacular technological advances in epigenetics, genomics, cellular and tissue imaging, and
developmental biology have greatly expanded research opportunities for utilizing these precious tissues to
facilitate current and future biomedical research progress. These advances establish the rationale for the
laboratory to innovate and undertake multiple collaborations to both evaluate and demonstrate the utility of
novel experimental approaches to maximize the scientific utility of these tissues. This application seeks to
develop the resource beyond the core fundamental goal of the resource aka the systematic collection,
staging, identification and processing of fetal specimens for distribution of tissues and derivatives to
scientific recipients. We, therefore, propose to develop the research resource utility further by engaging
with key collaborators to synergistically develop new services and thereby concurrently promote scientific
awareness of these approaches to increase recipient recruitment and enhance research progress into the
bases of human development and disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9999351
- **Project number:** 5R24HD000836-55
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Ian Amos Glass
- **Activity code:** R24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $786,163
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1979-05-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9999351

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9999351, Laboratory of Developmental Biology (5R24HD000836-55). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9999351. Licensed CC0.

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