Working together: Collaboration in the cancer biobanking landscape
On 17th October, the UKCRC TDCC attended the Confederation of Cancer Biobanks (CCB) and CM-Path’s joint meeting 'Working together: Collaboration in the cancer biobanking landscape'. The day was a great opportunity to bring together colleagues from throughout the UK to discuss the challenges and opportunities currently developing in the Cancer landscape.
Dr Phil Quinlan presenting UKCRC TDCC
The Confederation of Cancer Biobanks has a long standing history of collaboration and promoting good practice in the field of Biobanking and the event was a great example of this. Ran in collaboration with the new NCRI-funded initiative CM-Path, it bought together the various stakeholders, allowing for discussion and debate.
After an introduction by host Jane Hair, the UKCRC TDCC Director Dr Phil Quinlan went on to introduce their work. The short talk featured a few interactive polls which revealed the pressing issues facing Biobanks. The BBMRI-ERIC initiative was then presented by Prof. Marialuisa Lavitrano, BBMRI.it node director. The various work packages of BBMRI as well as the ADOPT project were outlined.
Prof Gareth Thomas presenting CM-Path
After an enjoyable lunch Prof Gareth Thomas presented the NCRI’s CM-Path Initiative. Prof Andy Hall then explained the journey and activity of the MRC Pathology Nodes using the Newcastle node as an example. The highs and lows of Precision Medicine were then described by CRUK’s Dr. Rowena Sharpe, who gave a fascinating talk on clinical trials they have run. The session was rounded off by Dr Clare Verrill discussing Tissue Access Guidelines.
The Afternoon’s session was entitled 'Working together – a view from north of the border' and featured fascinating talks from Prof. Andrew Biankin on The Scottish Genomes Partnership and on the Biobank Accreditation Scheme in Scotland by Sharon Baillie.
Jane Hair presenting NHS Research Scotland GGC Biorepository
The day came to a close with a great talk by Jane Hair on her experiences with working with the industry. Her talk 'An Industry Evaluation and Approval to Supply Tissue - A Case Study' outlined their journey in working with Novo Nordisk
The next meeting is planned for the spring in Southampton.
For all the latest Biobanking events check out our events page.