Remit of the Biological Archive
and the role of the Independent Archive Advisory Group (IAAG)
The remit of the Biological Archive is:
to collect, store, document and archive tissues from field TSE cases and control animals
to collect agreed lists of tissues that are in excess of project needs in research projects funded by Defra
to supply researchers worldwide, where the requests meet the agreed release policy, where the tissues are available or can be reasonably collected prospectively
It should be recognised that the archive is limited by the numbers of experimental and natural cases, necropsy and storage capacity and anatomical limitations (i.e. some tissues/organs are inevitably present in self-limiting quantities).
Independent Archive Advisory Group (IAAG)
The role of the IAAG is to advise on the release of tissues collected under Defra funding (and other UK public organisations) to scientists wishing to use them in their research into TSEs.
The IAAG operates under a fair, open and transparent policy and advises on:
policy for release of tissues
the remit of the archive
tissues to be collected
treatments and storage conditions
quality control
the archive database records
tissue disposal
tissue charges
location(s) of the archive stores
research grant application issues
content of the archive website
The IAAG membership includes:
independent chairperson
5 independent scientists
FSA observer/representative
European Commission observer/representative
and is supported by consultation with:
Defra representative from Science Directorate
Defra representative from CVO Directorate
APHA representative from TSE Programme Management
APHA TSE Archive Head of Group
Tissues to be collected
The IAAG make recommendations on which tissues should be collected and stored in the archive from experimentally infected animals and field cases. The IAAG also advise on whether there is a need, or the capacity, to set up further projects with the specific aim to collect tissues for the archive or to prospectively collect and store tissues from field cases.
There are 4 sources of tissues:
archive projects designed specifically to collect tissues for the archive
research projects where researchers donate excess tissues
natural field cases of TSEs in cattle and sheep
active prospective collection in response to requests
Quality control
The APHA Biological Archive is certificated to the ISO9001: 2008 Quality Standard.