In the last decade, Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) have set up Biobanks to collect human biological materials and associated data for genomic research and public health purposes. Biobanking gives rise to ethical challenges, such as informed consent, benefit-sharing, confidentiality, ownership, commercialization, and public participation which are harder to navigate in LMIC settings due to […]
Dr. Brent Schacter, Professor, University of Manitoba will be inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS). Induction into the CAHS as a Fellow is considered one of the highest honors within Canada’s academic community. Fellows are chosen by their peers based on their demonstrated leadership, creativity, distinctive competencies, and commitment […]
The COVID19 pandemic has highlighted long-standing, deep-rooted challenges to the sharing of biospecimens. Greater attention is needed to mechanisms for incentivizing materials transfer. The sharing of biospecimens and their associated data is critical to biomedical research. And yet, 81% of researchers are constrained by the inadequate quantity and quality of biospecimens and 80% of companies find accessing materials difficult. […]
Touted as the first-of-its-kind in the Middle East region, the Qatari Birth Cohort (QBiC) study is currently being conducted by Qatar Biobank, which is part of Qatar Foundation Research, Development, and Innovation. The QBiC study is now in its pilot phase and has recruited 216 pregnant women and 76 fathers-to-be. The study aims to recruit […]
In an effort to better understand how to diagnose and treat patients with COVID-19, physician-scholars at the Brown-based Advance Clinical and Translational Research (Advance-CTR) have partnered with Rhode Island’s Lifespan health system to create a bank of plasma and serum samples from patients who have been tested for novel coronavirus. The biobank is helping more than a […]
Cyprus-based Center of Excellence (CoE) CY-Biobank announced the launch of its brand new, user-friendly website! The new website includes features that will enable the wider public to engage, in a much simpler and efficient way, especially when booking appointments for participating in the island-wide donors’ campaign. The website has undergone vigorous tests with cutting-edge software […]
The National Reference Laboratory (NRL), has been selected as one of 12 laboratories in Africa that will provide genomic sequencing capacity for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the continent. Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN). The COVID-19 genome sequencing […]
Here is your monthly curated pick of biobanking news, jobs, and events from across the globe. New Addition: Biobanking Conversations (BbC #1) This edition includes an interview with Ms. Irmi Feldman, Biorepository Manager, from the University of California, Davis to cover the work and life of a biobanker. The Biobanking Quiz #3 (BbQ) Here is this month’s […]
Recent advances in the biological and medical fields have increased the value of research on biological samples stored in biobanks. These biological resources are an essential element to the development of research in many developing countries. Therefore, a good knowledge of biobanking by the staff of biological and medical laboratories can ensure an effective collection […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on health care and biobank operations across the world. In an effort to describe and understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on biobanking, a number of experts in the field from different parts of the world and from different resource contexts were asked to answer a set number of […]
