The UAB OB/GYN Research and Diagnostic Laboratory is an independent CLIA-compliant laboratory. Below you can find information regarding our clinical laboratory capabilities, research laboratory samples stores, and information on our maternal serum biorepository below.
CLIA ID# 01D0641549
Clinical Laboratory Capabilities
As a clinical lab, the lab performs between around 70,000 patient tests per year. You can find a list of tests and the instrument used below.
| Roche Cobas Pure e402 | |
|---|---|
| AFP (serum and amniotic fluid) | TSH |
| HCG (quantitative and diluted) | Free T4 |
| PAPP-A | LH |
| Estriol | FSH |
| Estradiol | Progesterone |
| Syphilis EIA | Prolactin |
| HCV Antibody | Rubella IgG |
| HIV Ab/Ag combination screen | HBsAg EI |
| Roche Amplicor COBAS 4800 | Cardinal Health SP Card |
| Chlamydia PCR | RPR (qualitative and quantitative) |
| Gonococcus (GC) PCR | |
| Gold Standard Diagnostics, Bolt | Beckman Coulter DXH560 |
| VZV IgG | CBC |
| Inhibin-A | CBC with diff |
| Meridian Illumigene | |
| Group B Streptococcus PCR* | |
| *susceptibilities by Kirby Bauer method on Mueller Hinton plates | |
Research Laboratory
The UAB Department of OB/GYN has a rich history in perinatal research. A list of samples stores as part of the research biorepository is outlined below.
| Study (PI) | Specimen Type Collected (sample number) |
|---|---|
| Prenatal Diagnosis (Dr. Subramaniam) | Clinical samples: A total of 53397 samples (as of June 2024) comprised of Maternal serum (51053), Whole blood (1963), Amniotic fluid 381 |
| PREPARE-M – Evaluation of microbiome changes to preterm birth (Dr. Edwards/Dr. Subramaniam) | Maternal vaginal samples (545) Maternal rectal samples (544) Neonatal oral samples (246) Neonatal rectal samples (246) |
| Cerclage - RCT of cerclage for prevention of preterm birth (Dr. Owen) | Maternal blood (1141) Cervicovaginal samples (1216) |
| C/SOAP – RCT of adjunctive azithromycin for cesarean prophylaxis to reduce puerperal infection (Dr. Tita) | Maternal whole blood and serum (2013) Mixed cord blood (~2013) Amniotic fluid at delivery (~2013) Placental biopsy/chorioamnion swabs (623) |
| EGGO – evaluation of early screening for gestational diabetes (Dr. Harper) | Maternal Serum (720) |
| C/SOAP – follow up study (Dr. Tita) | 233 (Nasal and Rectal swabs). |
| CHAP study (Dr. Tita) | |
| ITO study (Dr. Battarbee) | Buccal swabs (434) from 261 study subjects |
| AMR study (Dr. Subramaniam) | Maternal and Infant nasal and rectal swabs collected at labor and delivery and 5 other time points post-partum (6664) Maternal nasal swabs (1690), Maternal rectal swabs (1639). Infant nasal swabs (1693), Infant rectal swabs (1642). |
In addition, current efforts include acting as the biorepository for the multi-center CHAP study (evaluation of optimal treatment of hypertension) and as one of the testing site for the Gestvision Gestassured study.
Equipment available:
- MagPix (Luminex Corporation, Austin, TX) system features an innovative design based on CCD fluorescent imaging technology. MagPix is a versatile multiplexing platform capable of performing qualitative and quantitative analysis of proteins and nucleic acids in a variety of sample matrices, and can perform up to 50 tests in a single reaction volume. It has xPONENT (Luminex Corporation, Austin, TX) software package that allows the user to acquire samples, perform analysis, and run system maintenance routines and remote web monitoring.
- Applied Biosystems 7500 Sequence Detection System for real-time quantitative PCR has been used to complete several genotyping projects involving polymorphisms in cytokine and other inflammatory mediator genes including toll-like receptors.
The laboratory also has an Applied Biosystems 9700 GeneAmp thermal cycler, water baths, electrophoresis systems, a refrigerated microcentrifuge, one standard refrigerated centrifuge, two fume hoods, computers, printers, and other basic laboratory equipment.
Maternal Serum Biorepository
The largest volume of testing performed at the UAB OB/GYN Research and Diagnostic Laboratory is from our obstetric patients. Over 4000 women deliver at UAB annually and the vast majority are cared for in 4 distinct prenatal care clinical sites: Maternal-Fetal Medicine Clinic (10th floor Women and Infant’s Center [WIC]), the UAB OB/GYN Division (9th floor WIC), the Obstetric Complications Clinic (OBCC), and the regional health departments. A prenatal screening database (IRB050502013) has been established to main any remnant maternal serum (maternal serum remnants from routine prenatal laboratory testing) for a total of 5 years. This biorepository contains over 45,000 maternal serum specimens – with specimens usually preserved from patients in all three trimesters of pregnancy. Serum is stored in one or more aliquots with on average 1.5cc of remnant serum. This maternal serum biorepository’s primary use is in research with recent studies from serum including analysis of microbial DNA from women with and without preterm birth and design of an assay to test for fetal sickle cell disease using cell-free DNA.
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