Biobehavioral Laboratory and Biobank

The Biobehavioral Laboratory consists of a wet lab and a behavioral suite. The wet lab is classified as a Biosafety Level 2 facility by the UT Health San Antonio Environmental Health and Safety Department. It has the capacity to conduct assays involving saliva and blood.

Biobanking Storage and Testing

Several freezers store various biological samples from local and national studies. The laboratory also has resources for various physical assessments including, but not limited to the following:

• Body composition (i.e., physician scale, BMI assessment)
• Strength and fitness (i.e., baseline hydraulic hand dynamometer, ParvoMedic Metabolic Card)
• Cardiovascular function (i.e., pulse oximetry, blood pressure assessment).
• Specimen collection (i.e., blood, urine, etc.)
• Diagnostic ordering (i.e., HbA1c, Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, etc.)

It also has resources for neuropsychological testing including, but not limited to the following:

• Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
• CANTAB (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery)
• D-KEFS (Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System).

The laboratory has an active collaboration with LabCorp to conduct assays that cannot be done in-house.