Become An Approved Researcher

The Brain Endowment Bank distributes brain tissues to scientists worldwide who are investigating neurodegenerative or neuropsychiatric diseases.  One brain donated to research can support the work of many neuroscientists.

Tissue samples are available in the following preparations:

Fresh quick-frozen tissue blocks or coronal sections (nitrogen vapor or dry ice frozen) Passive frozen hemispheres (Dissection of specific anatomic regions) Formalin-fixed hemispheres (specific anatomic regions) The fresh quick-frozen specimens are optimally preserved with minimal ice artifact formation. These specimens are suitable for the widest variety of applications, including receptor binding, immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization, virus detection, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing, mRNA isolation, and certain neurochemical assays.

Tissue specimens will be shipped to your location, as appropriate samples become available for your study.

Staff members provide approved researchers with request forms for specific tissues for their study, both control as well as diseased brain tissue.  Once forms are received, brain tissue specimens are prepared and shipped to the research scientist.

Utilization of UM Brain Bank tissue requires acknowledgement in scientific publications as well as submission of a copy of each publication that will be made available on this website.

Serological testing is available and the UM Brain Bank does not knowingly ship tissues harboring infectious diseases.  However, testing does not guarantee safety, and human tissues may harbor unknown infectious agents.  Therefore, all human tissue samples should always be handled using standard universal precautions.

Complete an online application or download a PDF version.

For further information, contact 1-800-UM BRAIN.