The UW/VA Madison Brain Bank was established to provide researchers with human brain tissues from donors with neurologic and psychiatric diseases as well as from healthy donors. As of 2007, over 450 samples have been collected from surgical and autopsy cases. The brain bank has tissues stored at -80°C and paraffin blocks of formalin fixed tissue.

All care has been taken to minimize the postmortem interval of autopsied brains. Each autopsied brain is studied in detail and a final neurpathologic report is available on each case. All stored brains are classified in a database as to the disease affecting each case.

Scientists interested in obtaining brain tissue samples may need Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval and a tissue request form to the UW/VA Madison Brain Bank. The Brain Bank Tissue Committee will determine the merits of the proposed study and critique the proposed research. A response as to whether the UW/VA Madison Brain Bank will provide the requested tissue or not, will be given.

If you have any questions regarding this process, contact the Brain Bank staff at (608) 256-1901, ext. 11767, or brainbank@medicine.wisc.edu.

Tissue Catalog

To obtain our Tissue Catalog, please send your request to Brain Bank staff at brainbank@medicine.wisc.edu. In your request please include information about your study program such as your programs approval/permission to conduct research on human tissue.

Request Specimens

Tissue Request Form
PDF | DOC

Specimen Request Form
PDF | DOC