Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Rutgers University completes renovations on largest academic biobank

Rutgers has completed renovations on one of the world's largest university-driven biobanks. As chosen by the NIH, it is one of four institutions that will provide sample processing, analysis, storage, and data management for research projects. A recent Rutgers release states that the biobank features the new Genomics Technology Center. It will serve government agencies, foundations, and private-sector clients worldwide, including major pharmaceutical companies.  The University's biobank is already known for the advances it has made in mental disorders and addictions.

Andrew I. Brooks, Chief Operating Officer, Director of Technology Development and Rutgers associate research professor of genetics stated, "We’ve integrated our operation to make us more efficient, thereby increasing our capacity so we can better serve NIH-funded researchers but also to make our services more available to the private sector. We’ve expanded out infrastructure and doubled our automation analytical capabilities. Our goal is to standardize biosample collection, processing, distribution, and analysis to facilitate and accelerate the disease-discovery process.”

While institutions like Rutgers continue to make strides, the Biorepository industry as a whole is still in need of guidance to push progress forward. Our fall conference, Biorepositories and Sample Management Conference, brings together Industry Standardization Workgroup featuring participants Amelia Wall Warner, Head, Clinical Pharmacogenomics, Merck; Anita Nelsen, Head, R&D Human Sample Repository, GlaxoSmithKline; Helen Moore, Program Director, NCI-BBRB; Lori Ball, COO, Biostorage Technologies; and Katheryn Shea, President, ISBER; VP, Bioservices Operations, Precision Bioservice. During this afternoon session, the panelists and attendees will meet together to discuss Regulatory trends in patient privacy of biospecimens, Bioethical issues, Standardization of samples, Consent and re-consent, Return of research results to patients and more. For more information on this workgroup and the rest of the event, download the agenda here. If you'd like to join us in Boston September 25-27, 2013, a a reader of this blog, when you register to join us and mention code XP1898BLOG, you'll save 15% off the standard rate.

How important is it that we develop industry standards for the biobanking sector?


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