Proposals are requested to develop innovative approaches to the control, monitoring and assessment of biospecimen quality. For more information please click here
OBBR Deputy Director Jim Vaught, Ph.D. testified to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology on Tuesday, Sept. 9 about the immediate need for the federal government’s adoption of best practices and policies for biospecimen storage and tracking. To read Dr. Vaught’s full testimony, please visit News & Events.
The NCI OBBR recently held a symposium–workshop to define the parameters of custodianship that would allow biospecimen resources to operate in a culture of transparency, fairness, and accountability to all stakeholders. After keynote and plenary presentations from a variety of stakeholders and experts, workshop participants joined breakout groups to address specific questions and revise or generate specific recommendations in the realm of custodianship and ownership issues. These groups addressed the following topics: (1) Considerations for research participants, investigators, and institutions; (2) financial conflicts of interest (COIs); (3) intellectual property (IP); and (4) access to products and benefits. The summary report highlights the groups’ recommendations regarding custodianship as well as issues that will need further discussion following the symposium–workshop. [ Read More ]
More than 250 on-site and 100 webcast participants attended the first NCI Biospecimen Research Network (BRN) Symposium, "Advancing Cancer Research Through Biospecimen Science," on March 13-14, 2008, in Washington, DC. The primary goal of the symposium was to address the significant impact of pre-analytical biospecimen variability on cancer research and molecular medicine. We invite you to view the symposium presentations and archived webcast at www.brnsymposium.com.
For more than 100 years, physicians have been collecting blood and other tissue samples -called "biospecimens" by scientists-to detect and study disease. In the post-genomics era of biomedical science, biospecimens are assuming an even more prominent role in efforts to identify the key genes, RNAs, proteins, and signaling networks involved in cancer, and then use that information to detect cancer at its earliest stages and develop a personalized therapeutic regimen to treat that cancer. [ Read More ]
The Critical Role of Biospecimens in Cancer Research
NCI OBBR Director Dr. Carolyn Compton explains how biospecimens begin and end with the patient.
The NCI established the Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research (OBBR) in 2005 to guide, coordinate, and develop the Institute’s biospecimen resources and capabilities. The OBBR’s mission is to ensure that human specimens available for cancer research are of the highest quality. more
- Biospecimen Research Network
- Providing Your Tissue for
Research - Biospecimen Basics
- NCI Best Practices for Biospecimen Resources