Brooks Life Sciences
Precision Control for Genomic Samples

Samples form the bedrock of genetics and genomics data— information which directly affects a researcher’s ability to interpret the biology or the disease state under study. Subsequently, this becomes an important facet of precision medicine, as it facilitates analyzing the data of an individual and how that will affect a physician’s decision during the therapy and the patients’ ability to respond to a specific therapy. In this respect, having complete control of the sample chain of custody is critical, not only for sample correctness but also to help ensure sample quality, which is what Brooks Life Sciences Sample Management Services brings to the table.

Brooks Sample Management Services is the integration of BLS’ technologies and services that are a part of the genomics pipeline. What Brooks Life Sciences had noticed with respect to existing genomics pipelines was that the quality of a sample was highly variable; the time taken to generate and correlate data on the quality of the sample, and then the ability to know if the right sample was being analyzed were all most-encountered issues and remain challenges for the community. Brooks Life Sciences’ unique 360-degree comprehensive sample management lifecycle addresses those lapses that arise from the planning, collection, transportation, processing, protection, retrieval, and disposal of any biomaterial used for genomic analysis. They have developed an all-inclusive portfolio of products and services that oversees that the sample is appropriately collected and that it is always of high quality. Brooks Life Sciences ensures that the genomics service being provided is sensitive and accurate and that the provider can store, transport, and manage that sample in perpetuity, and along the way, be able to use a product to help guarantee their success, using specific consumables and automation for handling those samples.

The reasons behind the effectiveness, of Brooks Life Sciences Sample Management program and genomics services group, are the scientists who have been involved in the development of these technologies.

We provide solutions that are built by scientists and clinicians for scientists and clinicians

Dr. Andy Brooks, Chief Scientific Officer at Brooks Life Sciences calls these applications as ‘solutions that are built by scientists and clinicians for scientists and clinicians.’ “Our single largest differentiating factor is our team,” adds Dr. Brooks. The company stresses that true innovation lies in identifying not only what biomaterial can be used today, but what technologies are to be developed in the future that can then expand the understanding of those samples.

Brooks Sample Management Services is a platform-agnostic group that will help identify the right technology for investigators to be successful, at the right cost. Finally, our scientists are focused on quality control, understanding that there is no way to control some pre-analytical variables associated with sample collection and processing. They also appreciate that it is impossible to use just one site or one facility, while comparing data that is generated locally, nationally, or globally and that quality of the sample is the one normalizing factor that allows users to compare data across different collection sites and labs that are using a variety of sample processing and analytical sites. Consequently, the company’s focus is on developing tools that allow users to assess sample quality better, to be able to more accurately compare them across sites so that their clients can get the most out of every piece of data they generate, truly harmonizing the global operations of their processing labs around the world.

From an automation standpoint, the focus is on developing technology to handle and store samples with a very high level of performance and temperature regulation for both small and large volume biological samples. The FluidX team at Brooks Life Sciences has developed an acoustic tube, to miniaturize downstream assays and are building innovative tools to provide the necessary services for the management and storage of genomic samples using a number of different storage tube formats. The company will continue to release informatics products and more effective tools for genomic pipelines that allow users to tie together all pieces of the genomics pipeline, and integrate both clinical and research data.