BBRB Think Tank on the Identifiability of Biospecimens and "-Omic" Data Summary Now Available
For an overview and agenda of the June 11th-12th, 2012 workshop, visit the NCI Epidemiology and Genomics Research website here: http://epi.grants.cancer.gov/workshops/identifiability/
Our Name has Changed! OBBR is now the Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research Branch (BBRB)
The Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research (OBBR) has been moved to the Cancer Diagnosis Program of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis of the National Cancer Institute, and will now be known as the Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research Branch or BBRB. We will continue to lead a national initiative to systematically address and resolve one of the most difficult problems that will drive 21st century cancer research: the limited availability of carefully collected and controlled, high-quality human biospecimens annotated with essential clinical data and properly consented for broad investigational use under the BBRB name.
GTEx Project Featured in NCI Cancer Bulletin
Dr. Jim Vaught, BBRB Deputy Director, and Dr. Sherilyn Sawyer, formerly of BBRB, are featured in the latest issue of the NCI Cancer Bulletin. The article and video, "Building a Biobank to Discover Mysteries of the Genome," highlight GTEx project accomplishments and the upcoming scale-up. View the article and video here: http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/091812/page6#video
New Educational Brochure on Biospecimen Donation Available
BBRB is thrilled to announce the latest addition to our Educational Materials page. The latest resource, "How You Can Help Medical Research: Donating Your Blood, Tissue, and Other Samples" is an informative brochure designed to help patients understand sample donation and the process for donating samples. View the PDF in the Public Resources section under Educational Materials. Visit the NCI Publication Locator for more information on how to order copies.
Public Release of caHUB Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) cancer Human Biobank (caHUB) program is pleased to release to the public a compendium of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that are currently guiding the successful collection of normal human biospecimens for the NIH Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project. For more information, please visit the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) page.
NIH Biospecimen Interest Group to Sponsor Seminar on Thursday, May 31st, 2012
The NIH Biospecimens Interest Group will sponsor a seminar, "Rare Diseases: The challenges presented by Biospecimens, Patient Registries, Electronic Health Record, and Bioethics", on May 31st from 1:00 - 3:00 pm on the NIH campus, Building 10, Lipsett Auditorium, with live videocast at http://videocast.nih.gov/.
2012 BRN Symposium Videocast now available
Videocasts from February's BRN Symposium are now available for viewing. For more information, please go here.
Collaboration Opportunities with the Cancer Human Biobank (caHUB) at NCI
For more information please go here.
Report for BBRB Hosted Workshop on Biospecimen Reference Sets and Drug-Diagnostic Codevelopment Now Available
BBRB is pleased to release its report on the Workshop on Biospecimen Reference Sets and Drug-Diagnostic Codevelopment, held in January 2011. For more information, please click here.
Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies (IMAT) Program Reissues Funding Announcement
The NCI has reissued funding announcements for the Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies (IMAT) program. The IMAT program is aimed at the inception, development, integration, and application of novel and emerging technologies in the support of cancer research, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention. Read the notice for details.
Workshop Summary on Return of Research Results Available
BBRB convened a workshop to provide recommendations concerning the conditions and processes for releasing research results to human research participants who contribute biospecimens. Three areas were examined: diagnostic discrepancies and incidental findings, results from clinical studies, and results from basic research studies. Read the publication
New BBRB Brochure Available
BBRB has developed a comprehensive brochure that details the critical role of biospecimens in cancer research, BBRB's role in setting biospecimen standards to ensure high quality, and the benefits of a national, centralized biospecimens resource to address the current shortage of high-quality biospecimens necessary to advance medicine. Read the BBRB brochure
caHUB to Lead Biospecimen Accrual for GTEx
The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) cancer Human Biobank (caHUB) will lead the biospecimen acquisition sub-initiative for the NIH Genotype-Tissue Express (GTEx) project. GTEx seeks to determine how genetic variation controls gene expression and its relation to disease. Read the announcement
BBRB in the News
The work of the BBRB has been featured prominently in several national publications. Read more
