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Read about the latest developments in UK biobanking and beyond.
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A qualification for biobankers: the ISBER and ASCP BOC Qualification in Biorepository Science December 10, 2021 - Two leading bioscience organisations recently joined forces to develop a new professional qualification for biobankers around the world. Read on to find out more about the QBRS. Read More...
Bringing science to parliamentarians July 16, 2021 - This year Emma Lawrence (Research Engagement Manager) successfully secured a secondment with cross-party think tank Policy Connect. Read more about her experience with policy engagement. Read More...
The Future of UK Biobanking Coordination July 13, 2021 - Over the last 6 months the UKCRC TDCC has been undertaking a review of biobanking in the UK, to help shape a vision for the future. Find out more and have your say! Read More...
UK Biobanking Showcase 2022 June 1, 2021 - The UK Biobanking Showcase is the UK's leading event for biobanks, researchers, patients and those interested in the use of human samples in research. Save the date for the UK Biobanking Showcase 2022! Read More...
Open Life Science May 21, 2021 - There is a lot of talk about being open in research nowadays: open access, transparency, FAIR principles… but what does it mean and how does it affect you? Emma Lawrence, Engagement Manager explains all in this blog. Read More...
Publications citing sample use featured on Tissue Directory Profiles April 20, 2021 - Tissue Directory profiles now feature relevant publications citing sample use. Find out more about how to enable this feature on your profile. Read More...
Smart data sharing with the TDCC April 20, 2021 - Find out about how the TDCC is making data upload easier using the new TDCC submission API! Read on to find out how you can get involved. Read More...
The TDCC Fireside chat series February 5, 2021 - The TDCC Fireside Chat Series Following on from the success of the 2020 Biobanking Showcase meet-ups, the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) is holding a new series of informal online chats. The aim is to provide the opportunity to meet and discuss topics with fellow biobankers. Each session will have a theme and… Read More...
Supporting Researchers with Governance in Biobanking January 18, 2021 - Supporting Researchers with Governance in Biobanking Researchers need more support when it comes to sharing tissue samples and data a new report by the MRC Regulatory Support Centre has revealed. Confusion over whether consent allowed sharing, and with the paperwork and logistics of sharing was found. The results were based on a survey of 365… Read More...
Public Involvement in a Pandemic January 14, 2021 - Public Involvement in a Pandemic It's always time for public engagement We heard about the HRA's quick response to the pandemic. They introduced a fast-track approval service for COVID-19 research. Jim Elliot, (Public Involvement Lead) described how this reduced the time considerably, from approximately 62 to 5 days. The inclusion of public involvement, however, had dropped, from about 80% of applications to 22%. The feeling was that it… Read More...
Wales Cancer Bank wins Biobank of the Year 2020 November 16, 2020 - Wales Cancer Bank wins Biobank of the Year 2020 at the UK Biobanking Showcase. Read about their entry and access teh posters of all applicants for the award. Read More...
Biobank Manager receives OBE for services to the NHS during Covid-19 November 10, 2020 - Dr Sarah McDonald, Biobank Manager for the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) receives OBE for services to the NHS during this years COVID-19 pandemic Read More...
Biobanks working with industry: overcoming challenges part 3 of 3 November 10, 2020 - The final webinar in the Scientist.com and TDCC series - Overcoming Challenges in UK Biobanking - features a look at biobanks working with industry Read More...
UK Biobanking Showcase highlights October 28, 2020 - The 2020 UK Biobanking Showcase featured a week of online webinars, workshops and meet-ups. Read more about the Biobanking Showcase highlights and catch up on the recordings of the main sessions. Read More...
Capturing value through Researchfish September 2, 2020 - The Researchfish reporting system offers an opportunity to understand when human sample resources contribute in health research. The UKCRC TDCC spoke to stakeholders to explore potential. Read More...
UK Biobanking Showcase 2020 July 13, 2020 - UK Biobanking Showcase 2020 12th - 16th October 2020, online. UK Biobanking Showcase 2020 Organised by the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre, the UK Biobanking Showcase is the UK's leading event for those who work in biobanking and human tissue research. Agenda Sessions will run for 90 minutes from 13.30 each day: Mon 12th:… Read More...
What does sample access in the UK look like today? July 2, 2020 - Fourteen years since the Human Tissue Act was bought into law in the UK what does sample access look like and what can be done to improve it? Read more about research by the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre. Read More...
Biobanking under COVID-19: business, but not as usual June 29, 2020 - Catch up on the webinar from 22nd June with Lee Murphy, Genetics Manager at Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility. Read More...
Data sharing: Insight from Generation Scotland June 19, 2020 - Catch up on the webinar from 15th June with Archie Campbell, Chief Technical Officer at Generation Scotland. Read More...
Advancing our understanding of Breast Cancer May 26, 2020 - Find out how the UKCRC Tissue Directory helped a researcher access the samples he needed for his research. Read More...
Three practical approaches to overcoming challenges in UK biobanking: Webinar debrief May 26, 2020 - Catch up on part two of this webinar series, hosted by Scientist.com and the TDCC Read More...
Wales Cancer Bank amends ethics to support COVID-19 research May 21, 2020 - In response to the UKCRC TDCC call, this biobank sought an ethics amendment to enable them to support COVID-19 research. Read More...
Maximising the value of tissue from COVID-19 patients May 15, 2020 - The UKCRC TDCC has brokered a relationship between three organisations enabling vital coronavirus research. Read More...
Maximising the use, value and impact of tissue samples: Webinar debrief April 30, 2020 - Did you miss our April webinar hosted by Scientist.com? Catch up on this blog. Read More...
Fixing ligament tissue April 27, 2020 - Find out how the UKCRC Tissue Directory helped a researcher access the samples she needed for her research. Read More...
UK tissue for global diagnostics April 20, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory has enabled a multinational science and technology company to successfully source tissue samples from three UK biobanks. Read More...
How is COVID-19 affecting UK biobanking? April 8, 2020 - Access to tissue samples is crucial in advancing many types of COVID-19 research. How are biobanks able to support this need amidst closures and competing priorities? Read More...
COVID-19: biobanking call out March 27, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) is coordinating biobanking efforts to support research into COVID-19; developing a process to ensure that active biobanks receive requests which are relevant for their collections and capabilities. Read More...
UK Biobanks supporting priority research areas March 16, 2020 - Find out how UK biobanks are supporting research priorities identified by patients, carers and clinicians. Read More...
UK Biobank of the Year award 2020 March 2, 2020 - Applications for the UK Biobank of the Year Award 2020 are open! Now in its 5th year, the Award recognises human sample resources who have added significant value to high impact research. Read More...
ATLAS: Advanced data search tool for researchers February 24, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) is proud to be a partner in launching a new data search tool for researchers on 26th February. Register now to use the tool. Read More...
GDPR for Biobanks – A sheep in wolf’s clothing? February 7, 2020 - In our latest blog post we hear from Heather Coupar from MRC’s Regulatory Support Centre about General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Read More...
Researchfish: evidencing use of Human Sample Resources January 30, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre has produced a guide for researchers on how to acknowledge use of Human Sample Resources in Researchfish submissions. Read More...
The Health Data Research Innovation Gateway now live! January 15, 2020 - Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) has unveiled the first phase of the Health Data Research Innovation Gateway. The Gateway will enable researchers to find UK datasets related to their research. Read More...
UKCRC TDCC joins the UK Health Data Research Alliance January 8, 2020 - The UK Health Data Research Alliance is an independent alliance of leading healthcare and research organisations. The Alliance has just announced the addition of nine new members. Read More...
Transparency Principles December 19, 2019 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre has launched a set of Transparency Principles. The Principles outline how transparency can be sustained throughout the research life cycle, ensuring biobanks and donors know who is using their samples. Read More...
GiveMySample.org – information for potential tissue donors December 3, 2019 - A free web resource for biobanks and medical researchers to share with their potential tissue donors. Read More...
Report from the UK Biobanking Showcase 2019 November 28, 2019 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) hosted the fifth annual UK Biobanking Showcase on Tuesday 19th November. Read More...
UK Biobank of the Year 2019 awarded to UK Motor Neurone Disease Collections! November 28, 2019 - The UK Biobank of the Year was announced at the UK Biobanking Showcase on Tuesday 19th November 2019. The annual Showcase, hosted by UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC), was this year held at the University of Nottingham. Read More...
Survey of potential biobank users in Germany November 15, 2019 - The German Biobank Node (GBN), which is part of BBMRI-ERIC, asked more than 330 “potential biobank users” at university hospitals about their attitudes towards collaborating with biobanks. Here, Dr. Cornelia Specht, managing director of the GBN, tells us about the survey results and conclusions. Read More...
Spotlight on: Sue Ring October 25, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet Sue Ring, Head of Laboratories and Executive Director of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) at the University of Bristol, to find out more about her work. Read More...
New customisable biobanking game developed to help educate patients October 17, 2019 - King’s Health Partners Cancer Biobank at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Focus Games have developed a digital biobanking game. Here, Dr. Cheryl Gillett, Head of Biobanking at King’s College London, tells us more. Read More...
Spotlight on: David Porteous October 16, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet David Porteous, Research Professor at the University of Edinburgh, to find out more about Generation Scotland. Read More...
Spotlight on: Giuseppe Mazza October 16, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet Giuseppe Mazza, PhD., CEO and Co-Founder at Engitix Ltd to find out more about his work on developing acellular material from discarded human tissue (extracellular matrix) and applying this unique biomaterial for modelling human diseases such as fibrosis and cancer with the aim of developing better therapeutics. Read More...
Spotlight on: Kirstin Goldring October 16, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet Dr. Kirstin Goldring, Principal Scientist: Human Biological Sample Strategy and Governance at AstraZeneca, to find out more about her work. Read More...
Spotlight on: Matt McLoughlin October 16, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet Matt McLoughlin, VP Compliance and Categories at Scientist.com, to find out more about his work in supporting the pharmaceutical industry access regulated services to drive their R&D pipelines forward. Read More...
Spotlight on: Phil Stephens October 16, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet Phil Stephens from Cardiff University to find out more about the Cardiff University Biobank. Read More...
Europe Biobank Week 2019 October 15, 2019 - Katy reports back from the annual conference held this year in Lübeck, Germany. Read More...
Meet our 2019 UK Biobanking Showcase speakers! October 7, 2019 - Read about the distinguished speakers we have lined up for the 2019 UK Biobanking Showcase! Read More...
MRC Regulatory Support Centre Human Tissue Forum August 5, 2019 - In this post, we hear from Jessica to find out more about the MRC Regulatory Support Centre’s recent Human Tissue Forum meeting. Read More...
Understanding Animal Research with human samples August 2, 2019 - In this post we hear from John Meredith, Head of Education and Outreach at Understanding Animal Research to find out more about human samples and animal research. Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase 2019 June 28, 2019 - Find out more about the UK's premier biobanking conference, organised by the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre. Read More...
UK Biobanking Showcase 2019 Agenda June 28, 2019 - Find out about the planned speakers and events at our UK Biobanking Showcase being held in Nottingham 19th November, 2019. Read More...
Patient data – balancing access and protection: All talk and no access? June 14, 2019 - Erinna reports on use MY data's workshop “Patient data – balancing access and protection: All talk and no access?”. The workshop focused on identifying issues preventing timely and appropriate access to patient data – and brainstorming ways to address those impediments. Read More...
UK Biobank of the Year Award 2019 March 26, 2019 - We’re pleased to announce that applications for UK Biobank of the Year 2019 are now open! Now in its 4th year, the award recognises human sample resources who have added significant value to high impact research. Read More...
Spotlight on: Jessica Mai Sims March 6, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet our Engagement Manager, Collaborations Jessica Sims, to find out more about her role and future work at the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC). Read More...
Environmental Sustainability in Biobanking January 18, 2019 - In this post we hear from Martin Farley, Sustainable Laboratory Advisor at UCL to find out more about environmental sustainability in the lab. Read More...
Nov and Dec 2018: aggregating the anonymised sample data December 17, 2018 - The development team report on their end of 2018 API updates. Read More...
UK Biobanking Showcase 2018 December 5, 2018 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (UKCRC TDCC) held its annual meeting, UK Biobanking Showcase, on the 27th November. This year, the main themes included sustainability, quality and data management. Read More...
The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) wins UK Biobank of the Year 2018 November 28, 2018 - The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) have been awarded UK Biobank of the year 2018! Now in its 3rd year, the awards were presented at UK Biobanking Showcase. Read More...
Biobanking at the University of Cardiff November 19, 2018 - UKCRC TDCC staff visited the University of Cardiff to learn about biobanking in Wales through talking to researchers and visiting the new Cardiff University Biobank (CUB) and Wales Cancer Bank. Read More...
Spotlight On – Phil Quinlan November 13, 2018 - In our latest blog post we meet our Director, Phil Quinlan, to find out more about his role and future work at the UKCRC TDCC. Read More...
October 2018: load performance improvements October 31, 2018 - October's API development team update include improving the load performance of the API and learning about what the research community want in terms of the Directory. Read More...
Directory – Responding to feedback September 27, 2018 - Responding to your feedback to improving the Directory Multiple resources per account What has changed From your Directory account it is now possible to administer multiple sample resources or networks. Why we made the change We received feedback that some users managed several resources and therefore to have a separate email and password for… Read More...
September 2018: First testing of bulk upload September 25, 2018 - What the Development Team worked on in September During September, following preparing the bulk upload API for the first phase of testing, the team have been working on a number of improvements around handling errors. A lot of work has also been done this month with Researchers and Clinicians in order to understand how the Directory can best support… Read More...
Spotlight on: Erik Steinfelder September 21, 2018 - Spotlight on: Erik Steinfelder Erik Steinfelder is Director General of BBMRI-ERIC. Erik has completed a Bsc in Analytical Chemistry and a course in Foundations of Management. In 2008, he joined Thermo Fisher Scientific and as first Biobank Commercial Leader EMEA, he went on to head the complete biobank portfolio and range of activities. Additionally, between… Read More...
Biosharing at Europe Biobank Week September 20, 2018 - Biosharing at Europe Biobank Week 2018 The European and Middle Eastern Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB) and BBMRI-ERIC jointly held Europe Biobank Week (EBW) this September. Emma Lawrence, UKCRC TDCC Research engagement manager reports back on the week’s events. I attended Europe Biobank Week on behalf of the UKCRC TDCC this month. It was… Read More...
August 2018: First API changes August 18, 2018 - What the Development Team worked on in August During August, the team have been really busy working on testing the API to ensure that all the ‘test’ and ‘development’ environments work in exactly the same way through full and automated regression testing. There has also been a lot of work to change over environments following an update… Read More...
Spotlight on: Dr Sharon King August 15, 2018 - Spotlight on: Dr Sharon King Dr Sharon King is Manager of the Tayside Biorepository in Dundee. The Tayside Biorepository is part of a wider Scottish Biorepository Network supported by the Chief Scientist Office. Sharon has worked within a variety of translational based projects using human tissues, including PLK1 repression in breast cancer where she was awarded the… Read More...
Spotlight on: Professor Andrew Morris August 2, 2018 - Spotlight on: Professor Andrew Morris Professor Andrew Morris is the inaugural Director of Health Data Research UK (HDR UK). He is seconded from his position as Professor of Medicine, and Vice Principal of Data Science at the University of Edinburgh. Prior to this Andrew was Dean of Medicine at the University of Dundee and Chief… Read More...
Public support for transparency in Biobanking August 1, 2018 - Public support for transparency in biobanking The HTA and HRA have released a report, Consent to use human tissue and linked health data in research. This report details results from a series of workshops where the public shared their views on the topic. Although intended for the HTA and HRA, it provides examples of how to… Read More...
July 2018: API changes for vendor testing July 17, 2018 - July 2018 update Over the past couple of months, we have been making some structural changes to our data APIs in preparation for vendor testing. Some of this work is preparatory and will be built upon further, but it will still provide an early version for software vendors to feedback on. In this blog post… Read More...
The national data opt-out July 9, 2018 - The national data opt-out In order to make the samples you donate really useful for research, Biobanks need to link them to data about you. Recently there has been changes to the control you have over this data. We talk to Alison Stone and Chris Carrigan from the patient movement use MY data to find… Read More...
The (CM)-Path to quality Biobanking May 18, 2018 - CM-Path hosted a workshop on sample quality in biobanking and promoting best practice Research Engagement Manager, Emma Lawrence reports back on the workshop. Although I had used human samples in research in the past I had never given much thought to what makes a ‘good quality sample’. This week I attended the NCRI CM-Path initiative’s… Read More...
Biobank support and resources for those working with human tissue March 19, 2018 - Biobank support and resources for those working with human tissue Biobanking and research involving human tissue and data are governed by specific regulations and are guided by existing best practice. We've made a list of key organisations that provide biobank support and resources for research involving human data and tissue. MRC Regulatory Support Centre The… Read More...
Making new treatments possible in Riga March 16, 2018 - Riga old town (Creative Comms Licence, David Holt) Making new treatments possible in Riga In March BBMRI-ERIC members from all over Europe met in Riga for a management update. UKCRC TDCC Research Engagement Manger, Emma Lawrence reports back on the meetings events. The meetings are an opportunity for the national nodes to meet and talk… Read More...
Yarning to Consent: engaging in biobanking stories via knitting March 1, 2018 - Yarning to Consent: engaging in biobanking stories via knitting An introduction to biobanking What does knitting have to do with Biobanking? I wouldn’t be offended if someone didn’t see a connection between knitting and biobanking. But, sometimes we need unlikely pairings to entice people to think about a new subject. I met a woman… Read More...
£54 million funding to transform health through data science February 7, 2018 - £54 million funding to transform health through data science The UKCRC Tissue directory and Coordination centre will soon be embedded within one of six new Health data research centres in the UK. Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) is awarding £30 million funding to six sites across the UK to address challenging healthcare issues through use… Read More...
UK Biobank of the year award 2018 January 30, 2018 - UK Biobank of the year award 2018 The UKCRC TDCC is dedicated to supporting and promoting those who provide researchers with fit-for-purpose samples and data in the UK. The UK Biobank of the Year Award recognises the sterling work of human tissue resources in biobanking and seeks to recognise the one that has supported significant… Read More...
Spotlight on: Emma Lawrence January 25, 2018 - Spotlight on: Emma Lawrence In our latest blog post we meet Engagement Manager, Research, Dr Emma Lawrence to find out more about her role and future work at the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (UKCRC TDCC). What is your role and what does it involve? My job title is Engagement Manager for Research. It’s… Read More...
Finding out what makes researchers tick January 24, 2018 - Finding out what makes researchers tick Here at the UKCRC TDCC we want to help researchers use human samples in their research. In order to do this we are undertaking some research of our own! In 2016 the UKCRC TDCC launched the UK’s first cross disease sample register to help researchers find existing samples. Since… Read More...
Collaborators needed for new Keratinocyte Cancer Collaborative January 24, 2018 - Collaborators needed for new Keratinocyte Cancer Collaborative Thanks to the registration of skin cancer pathology reports, the biggest database on skin cancer in the world now exists through Public Health England (PHE) with input from the devolved nations. In order to build on this resource a new UK Keratinocyte Cancer Collaborative (UKKCC) is being established… Read More...
Commercial Principles November 28, 2017 - Principles for organisations integrating with the UKCRC Tissue Directory. This document sets out the core principles that the Centre should adopt when considering any commercial opportunities that may arise from the Directory. These principles shall be used by the legal teams at UCL or Nottingham to draw up an agreement with an organisation wishing to… Read More...
BBMRI-ERIC quality management programme November 15, 2017 - In this blog post we find out more about BBMRI-ERIC's work on quality management service and how you can get involved. Read More...
Bloodwise Childhood Leukemia Cell Bank wins Biobank of the year 2017 October 25, 2017 - Bloodwise Childhood Leukemia Cell Bank (CLCB) has been awarded UK Biobank of the year 2017. The award was presented at UK Biobanking Showcase on 18th October, 2017 in London. Northern Ireland Biobank were awarded runner up. Research Support The award is designed to highlight the work of Biobanks who go above and beyond in supporting… Read More...
UK Biobanking Showcase 2017 October 25, 2017 - UK Biobanking Showcase 2017 The annual UK Biobanking Showcase was held on 18th October, 2017 at the Kia Oval cricket ground in London. Over 140 people attended the event, covering human sample resources across the country, universities, medical funders and different medical companies and organisations. This year’s showcase sought to highlight some of the recent… Read More...
UKCRC TDCC announces collaboration with Medicines Discovery Catapult October 18, 2017 - UKCRC TDCC announces collaboration with Medicines Discovery Catapult A new collaboration between the UKCRC TDCC and the Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) will aim to help UK medical research companies access appropriately consented human biological samples to carry out their potentially life-saving work. The MDC aims to support the creation and growth of medicines and diagnostic… Read More...
UKCRC TDCC collaborates with SCIENTIST.com to ensure quality of human biosample acquisition globally October 18, 2017 - UKCRC TDCC collaborates with SCIENTIST.com to ensure quality of human biosample acquisition globally The UKCRC TDCC and Scientist.com have announced plans to work together to develop opportunities for biobanks in the UK to connect to potential researchers across the globe. Philip Quinlan, Director of the UKCRC TDCC said 'The aim is to enable biobanks throughout… Read More...
UKCRC TDCC collaborates with BC Platforms to provide a unique research platform to over 150 human sample resources in the UK October 18, 2017 - UKCRC TDCC collaborates with BC Platforms to provide a unique research platform to over 150 human sample resources in the UK BC Platforms, a leader in genomic data management and analysis solutions, has announced a collaboration with the UKCRC TDCC to explore the development of a unique research platform for more than 150 human sample… Read More...
UKCRC TDCC secures future funding October 18, 2017 - UKCRC TDCC secures future funding The UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) have announced that they will be funding the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre until 2020. The University of Nottingham and University College London (UCL) have been awarded a renewal of funding to continue the efforts of the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre… Read More...
Representing UK-based biobanking at Global Biobank Week October 5, 2017 - Representing UK-based biobanking at Global Biobank Week Presentation slide from the 'DNA, Your Say' project This week, our Engagement Manager Jessica Mai Sims reports her experience at Global Biobank Week. Global Biobank Week was held in Stockholm this in September 2017. This year the conference was hosted as a collaboration between BBMRI-ERIC, ESBB and ISBER.… Read More...
UK Biobank of the Year 2017 September 8, 2017 - Applications are now open for UK Biobank of the year 2017! The UKCRC TDCC is dedicated to supporting and promoting those who provide researchers with fit-for-purpose samples and data in the UK. The Biobank of the Year Award recognises the sterling work of human tissue resources in biobanking and seeks to recognise the one that… Read More...
ISO Biobank Standards August 7, 2017 - ISO Biobank Standards Assuring researchers as to the quality or standard of a Biobank is an important issue. We are here to keep you abreast of all the latest developments in the field. You may have heard that new ISO Biobank standards are coming soon, but who is writing them and how can you get… Read More...
Services available for new BBMRI.uk network July 21, 2017 - Services available for new BBMRI.uk network The UKCRC TDCC is the UK's node within BBRMI-ERIC; we can also, therefore, be referred to as BBMRI.uk. This membership means we are part of a much larger European effort and as a result the services BBMRI develop are available to UK Biobanks. We are initiating our own BBMRI.uk… Read More...
Sustainability Survey July 20, 2017 - This guest post by biobank researchers Daniel Simeon-Dubach; Kirstin Goldring and Marianne K Henderson introduces a current biobank sustainability survey. Read More...
Human tissue in safety assessment June 9, 2017 - The UKCRC TDCC reports on a workshop on the use of human tissue for safety assessment jointly hosted by the Safety Pharmacology Society, the University of Coventry and NC3Rs. Read More...
New HTA codes of practice May 17, 2017 - New HTA codes of practice In April the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) published updated Codes of practice. This guest blog by Regulation Manager, Fiona Maleady-Crowe explains what this means for Biobanks. What are the Codes of Practice? The HTA’s Codes of Practice provide practical guidance on the human tissue legislation and set out the HTA’s… Read More...
Patient data and tissue samples – benefits, barriers and concerns May 17, 2017 - Patient data and tissue samples – benefits, barriers and concerns On 9th May, 2017, the UKCRC TDCC co-hosted the workshop 'Patient data and tissue samples – benefits, barriers and concerns' along with Use MY Data, Independent Cancer Patient's Voice (ICPV) and the NCRI's Cellular & Molecular Pathology (CM-Path) initiative. The event was a good opportunity… Read More...
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks May 10, 2017 - The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks Today, samples donated for medical research are anonymised so that any work performed on them cannot be traced back to the donor. But donation for research has not always worked like this. In 1951, tumour cells from a patient in the USA were grown and sent all over the… Read More...
Cost recovery in Biobanking March 8, 2017 - Cost recovery in Biobanking When patients donate samples for research they do so with goodwill as a gift to research. So why is there sometimes reference to 'the cost of samples?' We explain more about the use of Cost recovery in Biobanking in our latest blog. How can tissue cost money when it is donated… Read More...
NC3Rs Workshop: Human tissue models for cancer research March 2, 2017 - NC3Rs Workshop: Human tissue models for cancer research On 1st and 2nd of March , the UKCRC TDCC attended the NC3Rs workshop: Human tissue models for cancer research. Here, we outline the day’s events and what we learned. The first day was opened by Prof Gareth Thomas who gave a pathologists perspective, highlighting the importance… Read More...
Biobanks and Business planning February 22, 2017 - Many Biobanks are under pressure to adopt more sustainable, business-like mentalities in the future. The results of a ISBER survey on business planning in the Biobanking community is outlined in this post. Read More...
HRA publishes new proportionate consent guidance February 1, 2017 - The Health Research Authority (HRA) have published new guidance on taking a proportionate approach to consent, particularly in reference to clinical trials. Read More...
Only a minority of biobanks have a publicly available access policy January 20, 2017 - A recent study has found that only around 9% of biobanks have a publicly available access policy. Given that most biobanks are funded by the public, there is an expectation that the samples they contain are made available for external research purposes that could ultimately have a social benefit. But for this to happen, clear… Read More...
Spotlight on: Gautam Mehta December 23, 2016 - Spotlight on: Gautam Mehta Job title: Honorary Consultant and Senior Lecturer, UCL Research Project: Gautam is exploring new ways to treat patients with liver failure and alcohol-related liver disease. Liver disease is the third commonest cause of preventable death in the UK and rates are rising rapidly, therefore new treatments are urgently needed. Gautam’s research involves… Read More...
Directory registration now a condition of REC favourable opinion December 1, 2016 - Directory registration now a condition of REC favourable opinion The UK Ethics Committee Authority (UKECA) have now made registration in the UKCRC Tissue Directory a condition of the Research Ethics Committee (REC) favorable opinion for research tissue banks (RTB). The Research Ethics Committee favour collection of tissue for future research use by research tissue banks,… Read More...
Putting Patients First November 30, 2016 - Putting Patients First UKCRC TDCC attended Patients First on 28th November, 2016 - an event co-hosted by ABPI and AMRC. Here we outline the day’s events and what we can learn from the topics discussed. The event was opened by Aisling Burnand, AMRC, with an inspiring quote by Mary Mead, 'Never doubt that a small… Read More...
Proposed changes to data security and consent in the healthcare system November 25, 2016 - Proposed changes to data security and consent in the healthcare system In September 2015, the Secretary of State for Health commissioned an intensive review of how personal data is used within the healthcare system. This called for recommendations to be made on improving data security and developing a new, clear opt-out and consent model for… Read More...
UK Biobanking Showcase 2016 November 18, 2016 - UK Biobanking Showcase 2016 The UKCRC TDCC's annual meeting was held on 16th November, at the Kia Oval in London. UK Biobanking Showcase was a unique opportunity to bring together all stakeholders in the field. The day kicked off with a brief introductory video on the centre; Prof. Dame Jessica Corner, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at The University… Read More...
UK Biobank of the year 2016 – shortlist announced! November 7, 2016 - UK Biobank of the year 2016 - shortlist announced! We are dedicated to promoting Biobanks and tissue custodians that go above and beyond in facilitating ground breaking research. We have asked researchers to nominate biobanks that have made their work possible. The shortlisted Biobanks for 2016 are: ALSPAC CCLG Tissue Bank Ethical Tissue Generation Scotland… Read More...
The UK Biobanking Timebomb: Maintaining Public Trust in Medical Research October 26, 2016 - The UK Biobanking Timebomb: Maintaining Public Trust in Medical Research On the 25th October, The UKCRC Tissue Coordination Centre attended an event in parliament organised by The University of Nottingham. The UK Biobanking Timebomb: Maintaining Public Trust in Medical Research was ran as part of Nottingham in Parliament day. The day saw more than 2,500… Read More...
Working together: Collaboration in the cancer biobanking landscape October 19, 2016 - 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… Read More...
Nottingham takes Biobanking to Parliament September 26, 2016 - Nottingham takes Biobanking to Parliament The University of Nottingham will be taking Biobanking to Parliament next month. The UK Biobanking Timebomb: Maintaining Public Trust in Medical Research will be held at 2.30pm on the 25th October in Westminster as part of Nottingham in Parliament day. The day will be a celebration of the leadership… Read More...
UKCRC TDCC attends Europe Biobank Week 2016 September 19, 2016 - UKCRC TDCC attends Europe Biobank Week 2016The UKCRC Tissue Coordination Cente attended Europe Biobank Week last week in its capacity as BBMRI.uk. The event was jointly organized by ESBB and BBMRI-ERIC and was a great opportunity to meet with the global biobank community. The week kicked off with a string quartet to reflect Vienna’s musical… Read More...
Spotlight on: Ethical Tissue August 26, 2016 - Spotlight on: Ethical Tissue Name: Ethical Tissue Location: University of Bradford What is your biobank for? One of our main objectives is utilising tissue for cutting edge research. It is vital that researchers get the necessary tissue to take the scientific and medical world forward in their ideas and developments in both medicine and technology.… Read More...
The UKCRC Tissue Directory is now Live! August 10, 2016 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory is now Live! The UKCRC Tissue Directory is now live for medical researchers wanting to source human tissue for their studies. The Directory is intended to be a first port of call for researchers needing human samples; it has functionality to search for both collections and capabilities. This means if it… Read More...
Spotlight on: Ana Rio-Machin July 20, 2016 - Spotlight on: Ana Rio-Machin Job title: Postdoctoral Researcher at Barts Cancer Institute (BCI), Queen Mary University of London Research Project: Ana researches the genetic alterations (mutations) that are inherited in families who have leukaemia without a known cause, within a Bloodwise funded programme; 'Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) familial cases, where two or more affected individuals… Read More... Biobank of the Year Awards 2016 July 14, 2016 - Biobank of the Year Awards 2016 Nominations for this awards are now closed. We are keen to promote and encourage Biobanks that go above and beyond in facilitating ground breaking research. We therefore encourage researchers to nominate biobanks that have made their work possible. Shortlisted candidates will be presented at our annual meeting UK Biobanking… Read More... Annual Meeting Registration Now Open! June 22, 2016 - Annual Meeting Registration Now Open! The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre's Annual meeting will be held at The Oval, London on the 16th November. UK Biobanking Showcase will be a chance to celebrate Biobanking in the UK. On the day, we'll showcase the range of exciting biobanking capabilities in the UK. There'll be debates,… Read More...
Centre at the UK Biobank Annual meeting June 16, 2016 - UKCRC TDCC at UK Biobank annual meeting On the 13th June the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre attended the first annual meeting of UK Biobank. UK Biobank is one of the larger Biobanks in the UK with 500,000 participants enrolled. The event coincided with the 10 year anniversary of the UK Biobank and celebrated… Read More...
What is SNOMED CT and why are we using it? June 10, 2016 - Find out more about SNOMED CT and why we use it in the UKCRC Tissue Directory. Read More... Accreditation June 8, 2016 - Accreditation Review of the CCB’s pilot audit scheme Background Biobanking is recognised as a critical area requiring development if progress is to be made in identifying clinically useful markers of disease and disease progression, discovering new drug targets and understanding the mechanisms of disease in cancer. Researchers continue to report that they are unable to… Read More...
Access Template June 8, 2016 - Access Template The access policy could be one of the most important documents that you as a Biobank will create as it will define so much of the interactions you are likely to have with researchers. Starting from scratch can be a daunting process, but luckily, the NCRI have created a template document. It sets… Read More...
Personas June 8, 2016 - User Personas We have been undertaking a review of the different stakeholders in Biobanking to understand how different people may interact with our biobank directory. This work was undertaken by the user-experience team at the University of Nottingham and the outputs are below to be viewed. These are generalisations but useful for us to understand… Read More...
Connecting the UK’s Biobanks June 8, 2016 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre hosted a meeting between the technical teams of the University of Nottingham and leading international suppliers of Biobanking software. Staff from the Advanced Data Analysis Centre and the Information Services department of the University met with Interactive Software, Infonetica, CSols, Open Specimen and Freezer Works to discuss and… Read More...
Centre staff receives Public engagement award February 11, 2016 - Jessica Sims, Project and Engagement Manager for the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre, has received University College London's Provost's Award for Public Engager of the Year (Professional Services Staff) for her work in public engagement in biobanking. The award recognised Jessica's recent project developing a biobanking board game to simulate the process of real-life… Read More...
BBMRI-LPC Third Scientific Call for Access December 16, 2015 - A third BBMRI-LPC Scientific Call for Access is now being launched, building on the success of the first call in 2014 and the second call in spring 2015. BBMRI-LPC supports innovative research projects conducted in large prospective cohorts (LPC) across Europe. This Call for Access is an outstanding opportunity for European scientists to gain access… Read More...
Poster prize award for biobanking board game project October 19, 2015 - The Centre recently presented a poster at the ESBB 2015 Annual Conference on our latest public engagement activity and were awarded the poster prize for the Education & Standards category. Our ‘Biobanking: the board game: Public engagement through table top game development’ outlined our UCL Beacon Bursary funded project that engaged people, who enjoy playing… Read More...
Coordination of Biobanking in the UK October 19, 2015 - Coordination of Biobanking in the UK On 29 September 2015, the Centre held its first annual biobanking event. Coordination of Biobanking in the UK, marked the UK becoming the 17th Member State to join BBMRI-ERIC, and was organised alongside ESBB's 2015 Annual Conference to further connect to global developments in biobanking. Below you can find… Read More... What to expect when donating samples August 14, 2015 - It is difficult to generalise what to expect when you donate your tissue to a biobank, as each biobank will operate in a slightly different manner. So this has been intended as a guide describing some of the key points during the various stages of biobanking to give you an idea what is likely to… Read More...
Introduction to biobanking August 4, 2015 - What are samples? A sample can take many forms. It can be a piece of human tissue taken from a healthy or a diseased part of the body, but it can also be a sample of bodily fluid such as blood, urine or saliva. The reason samples are taken is to allow researchers to perform… Read More...
Tissue Donation After Death for Research August 4, 2015 - Cadaveric Tissue for Research It is well known that tissue donation from the living is vitally important to research and is normally in the form of small samples from "surplus to diagnostic" material or tumour biopsy. While this process allows many types of research to be undertaken, the research undertaken can be limited and so… Read More...
BBMRI-LPC Scientific Call for Access now open June 15, 2015 - BBMRI-LPC Scientific Call for Access: Transnational Access to Large Prospective Cohorts in Europe The Call is an opportunity for European scientists to access, for free, unique collections of biosamples and data from participating Large Prospective Cohorts (LPS) across Europe. The deadline for this Call for Access is 15 June 2015. For more information on how… Read More... A qualification for biobankers: the ISBER and ASCP BOC Qualification in Biorepository Science December 10, 2021 - Two leading bioscience organisations recently joined forces to develop a new professional qualification for biobankers around the world. Read on to find out more about the QBRS. Read More... The Future of UK Biobanking Coordination July 13, 2021 - Over the last 6 months the UKCRC TDCC has been undertaking a review of biobanking in the UK, to help shape a vision for the future. Find out more and have your say! Read More... Capturing value through Researchfish September 2, 2020 - The Researchfish reporting system offers an opportunity to understand when human sample resources contribute in health research. The UKCRC TDCC spoke to stakeholders to explore potential. Read More... Biobanking under COVID-19: business, but not as usual June 29, 2020 - Catch up on the webinar from 22nd June with Lee Murphy, Genetics Manager at Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility. Read More... Data sharing: Insight from Generation Scotland June 19, 2020 - Catch up on the webinar from 15th June with Archie Campbell, Chief Technical Officer at Generation Scotland. Read More... Three practical approaches to overcoming challenges in UK biobanking: Webinar debrief May 26, 2020 - Catch up on part two of this webinar series, hosted by Scientist.com and the TDCC Read More... How is COVID-19 affecting UK biobanking? April 8, 2020 - Access to tissue samples is crucial in advancing many types of COVID-19 research. How are biobanks able to support this need amidst closures and competing priorities? Read More... COVID-19: biobanking call out March 27, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) is coordinating biobanking efforts to support research into COVID-19; developing a process to ensure that active biobanks receive requests which are relevant for their collections and capabilities. Read More... UK Biobanks supporting priority research areas March 16, 2020 - Find out how UK biobanks are supporting research priorities identified by patients, carers and clinicians. Read More... GDPR for Biobanks – A sheep in wolf’s clothing? February 7, 2020 - In our latest blog post we hear from Heather Coupar from MRC’s Regulatory Support Centre about General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Read More... Transparency Principles December 19, 2019 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre has launched a set of Transparency Principles. The Principles outline how transparency can be sustained throughout the research life cycle, ensuring biobanks and donors know who is using their samples. Read More... Survey of potential biobank users in Germany November 15, 2019 - The German Biobank Node (GBN), which is part of BBMRI-ERIC, asked more than 330 “potential biobank users” at university hospitals about their attitudes towards collaborating with biobanks. Here, Dr. Cornelia Specht, managing director of the GBN, tells us about the survey results and conclusions. Read More... Understanding Animal Research with human samples August 2, 2019 - In this post we hear from John Meredith, Head of Education and Outreach at Understanding Animal Research to find out more about human samples and animal research. Read More... The national data opt-out July 9, 2018 - The national data opt-out In order to make the samples you donate really useful for research, Biobanks need to link them to data about you. Recently there has been changes to the control you have over this data. We talk to Alison Stone and Chris Carrigan from the patient movement use MY data to find… Read More... The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks May 10, 2017 - The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks Today, samples donated for medical research are anonymised so that any work performed on them cannot be traced back to the donor. But donation for research has not always worked like this. In 1951, tumour cells from a patient in the USA were grown and sent all over the… Read More... Cost recovery in Biobanking March 8, 2017 - Cost recovery in Biobanking When patients donate samples for research they do so with goodwill as a gift to research. So why is there sometimes reference to 'the cost of samples?' We explain more about the use of Cost recovery in Biobanking in our latest blog. How can tissue cost money when it is donated… Read More... What to expect when donating samples August 14, 2015 - It is difficult to generalise what to expect when you donate your tissue to a biobank, as each biobank will operate in a slightly different manner. So this has been intended as a guide describing some of the key points during the various stages of biobanking to give you an idea what is likely to… Read More... Introduction to biobanking August 4, 2015 - What are samples? A sample can take many forms. It can be a piece of human tissue taken from a healthy or a diseased part of the body, but it can also be a sample of bodily fluid such as blood, urine or saliva. The reason samples are taken is to allow researchers to perform… Read More... Tissue Donation After Death for Research August 4, 2015 - Cadaveric Tissue for Research It is well known that tissue donation from the living is vitally important to research and is normally in the form of small samples from "surplus to diagnostic" material or tumour biopsy. While this process allows many types of research to be undertaken, the research undertaken can be limited and so… Read More... The Future of UK Biobanking Coordination July 13, 2021 - Over the last 6 months the UKCRC TDCC has been undertaking a review of biobanking in the UK, to help shape a vision for the future. Find out more and have your say! Read More... Publications citing sample use featured on Tissue Directory Profiles April 20, 2021 - Tissue Directory profiles now feature relevant publications citing sample use. Find out more about how to enable this feature on your profile. Read More... Smart data sharing with the TDCC April 20, 2021 - Find out about how the TDCC is making data upload easier using the new TDCC submission API! Read on to find out how you can get involved. Read More... Three practical approaches to overcoming challenges in UK biobanking: Webinar debrief May 26, 2020 - Catch up on part two of this webinar series, hosted by Scientist.com and the TDCC Read More... ATLAS: Advanced data search tool for researchers February 24, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) is proud to be a partner in launching a new data search tool for researchers on 26th February. Register now to use the tool. Read More... Nov and Dec 2018: aggregating the anonymised sample data December 17, 2018 - The development team report on their end of 2018 API updates. Read More... October 2018: load performance improvements October 31, 2018 - October's API development team update include improving the load performance of the API and learning about what the research community want in terms of the Directory. Read More... Directory – Responding to feedback September 27, 2018 - Responding to your feedback to improving the Directory Multiple resources per account What has changed From your Directory account it is now possible to administer multiple sample resources or networks. Why we made the change We received feedback that some users managed several resources and therefore to have a separate email and password for… Read More... September 2018: First testing of bulk upload September 25, 2018 - What the Development Team worked on in September During September, following preparing the bulk upload API for the first phase of testing, the team have been working on a number of improvements around handling errors. A lot of work has also been done this month with Researchers and Clinicians in order to understand how the Directory can best support… Read More... August 2018: First API changes August 18, 2018 - What the Development Team worked on in August During August, the team have been really busy working on testing the API to ensure that all the ‘test’ and ‘development’ environments work in exactly the same way through full and automated regression testing. There has also been a lot of work to change over environments following an update… Read More... July 2018: API changes for vendor testing July 17, 2018 - July 2018 update Over the past couple of months, we have been making some structural changes to our data APIs in preparation for vendor testing. Some of this work is preparatory and will be built upon further, but it will still provide an early version for software vendors to feedback on. In this blog post… Read More... Commercial Principles November 28, 2017 - Principles for organisations integrating with the UKCRC Tissue Directory. This document sets out the core principles that the Centre should adopt when considering any commercial opportunities that may arise from the Directory. These principles shall be used by the legal teams at UCL or Nottingham to draw up an agreement with an organisation wishing to… Read More... What is SNOMED CT and why are we using it? June 10, 2016 - Find out more about SNOMED CT and why we use it in the UKCRC Tissue Directory. Read More... Personas June 8, 2016 - User Personas We have been undertaking a review of the different stakeholders in Biobanking to understand how different people may interact with our biobank directory. This work was undertaken by the user-experience team at the University of Nottingham and the outputs are below to be viewed. These are generalisations but useful for us to understand… Read More... Connecting the UK’s Biobanks June 8, 2016 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre hosted a meeting between the technical teams of the University of Nottingham and leading international suppliers of Biobanking software. Staff from the Advanced Data Analysis Centre and the Information Services department of the University met with Interactive Software, Infonetica, CSols, Open Specimen and Freezer Works to discuss and… Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase 2022 June 1, 2021 - The UK Biobanking Showcase is the UK's leading event for biobanks, researchers, patients and those interested in the use of human samples in research. Save the date for the UK Biobanking Showcase 2022! Read More... The TDCC Fireside chat series February 5, 2021 - The TDCC Fireside Chat Series Following on from the success of the 2020 Biobanking Showcase meet-ups, the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) is holding a new series of informal online chats. The aim is to provide the opportunity to meet and discuss topics with fellow biobankers. Each session will have a theme and… Read More... Public Involvement in a Pandemic January 14, 2021 - Public Involvement in a Pandemic It's always time for public engagement We heard about the HRA's quick response to the pandemic. They introduced a fast-track approval service for COVID-19 research. Jim Elliot, (Public Involvement Lead) described how this reduced the time considerably, from approximately 62 to 5 days. The inclusion of public involvement, however, had dropped, from about 80% of applications to 22%. The feeling was that it… Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase highlights October 28, 2020 - The 2020 UK Biobanking Showcase featured a week of online webinars, workshops and meet-ups. Read more about the Biobanking Showcase highlights and catch up on the recordings of the main sessions. Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase 2020 July 13, 2020 - UK Biobanking Showcase 2020 12th - 16th October 2020, online. UK Biobanking Showcase 2020 Organised by the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre, the UK Biobanking Showcase is the UK's leading event for those who work in biobanking and human tissue research. Agenda Sessions will run for 90 minutes from 13.30 each day: Mon 12th:… Read More... Biobanking under COVID-19: business, but not as usual June 29, 2020 - Catch up on the webinar from 22nd June with Lee Murphy, Genetics Manager at Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility. Read More... Data sharing: Insight from Generation Scotland June 19, 2020 - Catch up on the webinar from 15th June with Archie Campbell, Chief Technical Officer at Generation Scotland. Read More... Three practical approaches to overcoming challenges in UK biobanking: Webinar debrief May 26, 2020 - Catch up on part two of this webinar series, hosted by Scientist.com and the TDCC Read More... Maximising the use, value and impact of tissue samples: Webinar debrief April 30, 2020 - Did you miss our April webinar hosted by Scientist.com? Catch up on this blog. Read More... Report from the UK Biobanking Showcase 2019 November 28, 2019 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) hosted the fifth annual UK Biobanking Showcase on Tuesday 19th November. Read More... UK Biobank of the Year 2019 awarded to UK Motor Neurone Disease Collections! November 28, 2019 - The UK Biobank of the Year was announced at the UK Biobanking Showcase on Tuesday 19th November 2019. The annual Showcase, hosted by UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC), was this year held at the University of Nottingham. Read More... Meet our 2019 UK Biobanking Showcase speakers! October 7, 2019 - Read about the distinguished speakers we have lined up for the 2019 UK Biobanking Showcase! Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase 2019 June 28, 2019 - Find out more about the UK's premier biobanking conference, organised by the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre. Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase 2019 Agenda June 28, 2019 - Find out about the planned speakers and events at our UK Biobanking Showcase being held in Nottingham 19th November, 2019. Read More... Patient data – balancing access and protection: All talk and no access? June 14, 2019 - Erinna reports on use MY data's workshop “Patient data – balancing access and protection: All talk and no access?”. The workshop focused on identifying issues preventing timely and appropriate access to patient data – and brainstorming ways to address those impediments. Read More... UK Biobank of the Year Award 2019 March 26, 2019 - We’re pleased to announce that applications for UK Biobank of the Year 2019 are now open! Now in its 4th year, the award recognises human sample resources who have added significant value to high impact research. Read More... Biobanking at the University of Cardiff November 19, 2018 - UKCRC TDCC staff visited the University of Cardiff to learn about biobanking in Wales through talking to researchers and visiting the new Cardiff University Biobank (CUB) and Wales Cancer Bank. Read More... Biosharing at Europe Biobank Week September 20, 2018 - Biosharing at Europe Biobank Week 2018 The European and Middle Eastern Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB) and BBMRI-ERIC jointly held Europe Biobank Week (EBW) this September. Emma Lawrence, UKCRC TDCC Research engagement manager reports back on the week’s events. I attended Europe Biobank Week on behalf of the UKCRC TDCC this month. It was… Read More... The (CM)-Path to quality Biobanking May 18, 2018 - CM-Path hosted a workshop on sample quality in biobanking and promoting best practice Research Engagement Manager, Emma Lawrence reports back on the workshop. Although I had used human samples in research in the past I had never given much thought to what makes a ‘good quality sample’. This week I attended the NCRI CM-Path initiative’s… Read More... Making new treatments possible in Riga March 16, 2018 - Riga old town (Creative Comms Licence, David Holt) Making new treatments possible in Riga In March BBMRI-ERIC members from all over Europe met in Riga for a management update. UKCRC TDCC Research Engagement Manger, Emma Lawrence reports back on the meetings events. The meetings are an opportunity for the national nodes to meet and talk… Read More... UK Biobank of the year award 2018 January 30, 2018 - UK Biobank of the year award 2018 The UKCRC TDCC is dedicated to supporting and promoting those who provide researchers with fit-for-purpose samples and data in the UK. The UK Biobank of the Year Award recognises the sterling work of human tissue resources in biobanking and seeks to recognise the one that has supported significant… Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase 2017 October 25, 2017 - UK Biobanking Showcase 2017 The annual UK Biobanking Showcase was held on 18th October, 2017 at the Kia Oval cricket ground in London. Over 140 people attended the event, covering human sample resources across the country, universities, medical funders and different medical companies and organisations. This year’s showcase sought to highlight some of the recent… Read More... Representing UK-based biobanking at Global Biobank Week October 5, 2017 - Representing UK-based biobanking at Global Biobank Week Presentation slide from the 'DNA, Your Say' project This week, our Engagement Manager Jessica Mai Sims reports her experience at Global Biobank Week. Global Biobank Week was held in Stockholm this in September 2017. This year the conference was hosted as a collaboration between BBMRI-ERIC, ESBB and ISBER.… Read More... Human tissue in safety assessment June 9, 2017 - The UKCRC TDCC reports on a workshop on the use of human tissue for safety assessment jointly hosted by the Safety Pharmacology Society, the University of Coventry and NC3Rs. Read More... Patient data and tissue samples – benefits, barriers and concerns May 17, 2017 - Patient data and tissue samples – benefits, barriers and concerns On 9th May, 2017, the UKCRC TDCC co-hosted the workshop 'Patient data and tissue samples – benefits, barriers and concerns' along with Use MY Data, Independent Cancer Patient's Voice (ICPV) and the NCRI's Cellular & Molecular Pathology (CM-Path) initiative. The event was a good opportunity… Read More... UK Biobank of the year 2016 – shortlist announced! November 7, 2016 - UK Biobank of the year 2016 - shortlist announced! We are dedicated to promoting Biobanks and tissue custodians that go above and beyond in facilitating ground breaking research. We have asked researchers to nominate biobanks that have made their work possible. The shortlisted Biobanks for 2016 are: ALSPAC CCLG Tissue Bank Ethical Tissue Generation Scotland… Read More... Annual Meeting Registration Now Open! June 22, 2016 - Annual Meeting Registration Now Open! The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre's Annual meeting will be held at The Oval, London on the 16th November. UK Biobanking Showcase will be a chance to celebrate Biobanking in the UK. On the day, we'll showcase the range of exciting biobanking capabilities in the UK. There'll be debates,… Read More... Centre at the UK Biobank Annual meeting June 16, 2016 - UKCRC TDCC at UK Biobank annual meeting On the 13th June the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre attended the first annual meeting of UK Biobank. UK Biobank is one of the larger Biobanks in the UK with 500,000 participants enrolled. The event coincided with the 10 year anniversary of the UK Biobank and celebrated… Read More... A qualification for biobankers: the ISBER and ASCP BOC Qualification in Biorepository Science December 10, 2021 - Two leading bioscience organisations recently joined forces to develop a new professional qualification for biobankers around the world. Read on to find out more about the QBRS. Read More... Bringing science to parliamentarians July 16, 2021 - This year Emma Lawrence (Research Engagement Manager) successfully secured a secondment with cross-party think tank Policy Connect. Read more about her experience with policy engagement. Read More... The Future of UK Biobanking Coordination July 13, 2021 - Over the last 6 months the UKCRC TDCC has been undertaking a review of biobanking in the UK, to help shape a vision for the future. Find out more and have your say! Read More... Open Life Science May 21, 2021 - There is a lot of talk about being open in research nowadays: open access, transparency, FAIR principles… but what does it mean and how does it affect you? Emma Lawrence, Engagement Manager explains all in this blog. Read More... Smart data sharing with the TDCC April 20, 2021 - Find out about how the TDCC is making data upload easier using the new TDCC submission API! Read on to find out how you can get involved. Read More... Supporting Researchers with Governance in Biobanking January 18, 2021 - Supporting Researchers with Governance in Biobanking Researchers need more support when it comes to sharing tissue samples and data a new report by the MRC Regulatory Support Centre has revealed. Confusion over whether consent allowed sharing, and with the paperwork and logistics of sharing was found. The results were based on a survey of 365… Read More... Public Involvement in a Pandemic January 14, 2021 - Public Involvement in a Pandemic It's always time for public engagement We heard about the HRA's quick response to the pandemic. They introduced a fast-track approval service for COVID-19 research. Jim Elliot, (Public Involvement Lead) described how this reduced the time considerably, from approximately 62 to 5 days. The inclusion of public involvement, however, had dropped, from about 80% of applications to 22%. The feeling was that it… Read More... Wales Cancer Bank wins Biobank of the Year 2020 November 16, 2020 - Wales Cancer Bank wins Biobank of the Year 2020 at the UK Biobanking Showcase. Read about their entry and access teh posters of all applicants for the award. Read More... Biobank Manager receives OBE for services to the NHS during Covid-19 November 10, 2020 - Dr Sarah McDonald, Biobank Manager for the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) receives OBE for services to the NHS during this years COVID-19 pandemic Read More... Biobanks working with industry: overcoming challenges part 3 of 3 November 10, 2020 - The final webinar in the Scientist.com and TDCC series - Overcoming Challenges in UK Biobanking - features a look at biobanks working with industry Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase highlights October 28, 2020 - The 2020 UK Biobanking Showcase featured a week of online webinars, workshops and meet-ups. Read more about the Biobanking Showcase highlights and catch up on the recordings of the main sessions. Read More... Maximising the use, value and impact of tissue samples: Webinar debrief April 30, 2020 - Did you miss our April webinar hosted by Scientist.com? Catch up on this blog. Read More... Fixing ligament tissue April 27, 2020 - Find out how the UKCRC Tissue Directory helped a researcher access the samples she needed for her research. Read More... UK tissue for global diagnostics April 20, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory has enabled a multinational science and technology company to successfully source tissue samples from three UK biobanks. Read More... How is COVID-19 affecting UK biobanking? April 8, 2020 - Access to tissue samples is crucial in advancing many types of COVID-19 research. How are biobanks able to support this need amidst closures and competing priorities? Read More... COVID-19: biobanking call out March 27, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) is coordinating biobanking efforts to support research into COVID-19; developing a process to ensure that active biobanks receive requests which are relevant for their collections and capabilities. Read More... UK Biobank of the Year award 2020 March 2, 2020 - Applications for the UK Biobank of the Year Award 2020 are open! Now in its 5th year, the Award recognises human sample resources who have added significant value to high impact research. Read More... ATLAS: Advanced data search tool for researchers February 24, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) is proud to be a partner in launching a new data search tool for researchers on 26th February. Register now to use the tool. Read More... GDPR for Biobanks – A sheep in wolf’s clothing? February 7, 2020 - In our latest blog post we hear from Heather Coupar from MRC’s Regulatory Support Centre about General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Read More... Researchfish: evidencing use of Human Sample Resources January 30, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre has produced a guide for researchers on how to acknowledge use of Human Sample Resources in Researchfish submissions. Read More... The Health Data Research Innovation Gateway now live! January 15, 2020 - Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) has unveiled the first phase of the Health Data Research Innovation Gateway. The Gateway will enable researchers to find UK datasets related to their research. Read More... UKCRC TDCC joins the UK Health Data Research Alliance January 8, 2020 - The UK Health Data Research Alliance is an independent alliance of leading healthcare and research organisations. The Alliance has just announced the addition of nine new members. Read More... Transparency Principles December 19, 2019 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre has launched a set of Transparency Principles. The Principles outline how transparency can be sustained throughout the research life cycle, ensuring biobanks and donors know who is using their samples. Read More... Report from the UK Biobanking Showcase 2019 November 28, 2019 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) hosted the fifth annual UK Biobanking Showcase on Tuesday 19th November. Read More... UK Biobank of the Year 2019 awarded to UK Motor Neurone Disease Collections! November 28, 2019 - The UK Biobank of the Year was announced at the UK Biobanking Showcase on Tuesday 19th November 2019. The annual Showcase, hosted by UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC), was this year held at the University of Nottingham. Read More... Survey of potential biobank users in Germany November 15, 2019 - The German Biobank Node (GBN), which is part of BBMRI-ERIC, asked more than 330 “potential biobank users” at university hospitals about their attitudes towards collaborating with biobanks. Here, Dr. Cornelia Specht, managing director of the GBN, tells us about the survey results and conclusions. Read More... New customisable biobanking game developed to help educate patients October 17, 2019 - King’s Health Partners Cancer Biobank at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Focus Games have developed a digital biobanking game. Here, Dr. Cheryl Gillett, Head of Biobanking at King’s College London, tells us more. Read More... Europe Biobank Week 2019 October 15, 2019 - Katy reports back from the annual conference held this year in Lübeck, Germany. Read More... Meet our 2019 UK Biobanking Showcase speakers! October 7, 2019 - Read about the distinguished speakers we have lined up for the 2019 UK Biobanking Showcase! Read More... UK Biobank of the Year Award 2019 March 26, 2019 - We’re pleased to announce that applications for UK Biobank of the Year 2019 are now open! Now in its 4th year, the award recognises human sample resources who have added significant value to high impact research. Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase 2018 December 5, 2018 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (UKCRC TDCC) held its annual meeting, UK Biobanking Showcase, on the 27th November. This year, the main themes included sustainability, quality and data management. Read More... The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) wins UK Biobank of the Year 2018 November 28, 2018 - The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) have been awarded UK Biobank of the year 2018! Now in its 3rd year, the awards were presented at UK Biobanking Showcase. Read More... Public support for transparency in Biobanking August 1, 2018 - Public support for transparency in biobanking The HTA and HRA have released a report, Consent to use human tissue and linked health data in research. This report details results from a series of workshops where the public shared their views on the topic. Although intended for the HTA and HRA, it provides examples of how to… Read More... £54 million funding to transform health through data science February 7, 2018 - £54 million funding to transform health through data science The UKCRC Tissue directory and Coordination centre will soon be embedded within one of six new Health data research centres in the UK. Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) is awarding £30 million funding to six sites across the UK to address challenging healthcare issues through use… Read More... UK Biobank of the year award 2018 January 30, 2018 - UK Biobank of the year award 2018 The UKCRC TDCC is dedicated to supporting and promoting those who provide researchers with fit-for-purpose samples and data in the UK. The UK Biobank of the Year Award recognises the sterling work of human tissue resources in biobanking and seeks to recognise the one that has supported significant… Read More... Finding out what makes researchers tick January 24, 2018 - Finding out what makes researchers tick Here at the UKCRC TDCC we want to help researchers use human samples in their research. In order to do this we are undertaking some research of our own! In 2016 the UKCRC TDCC launched the UK’s first cross disease sample register to help researchers find existing samples. Since… Read More... Bloodwise Childhood Leukemia Cell Bank wins Biobank of the year 2017 October 25, 2017 - Bloodwise Childhood Leukemia Cell Bank (CLCB) has been awarded UK Biobank of the year 2017. The award was presented at UK Biobanking Showcase on 18th October, 2017 in London. Northern Ireland Biobank were awarded runner up. Research Support The award is designed to highlight the work of Biobanks who go above and beyond in supporting… Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase 2017 October 25, 2017 - UK Biobanking Showcase 2017 The annual UK Biobanking Showcase was held on 18th October, 2017 at the Kia Oval cricket ground in London. Over 140 people attended the event, covering human sample resources across the country, universities, medical funders and different medical companies and organisations. This year’s showcase sought to highlight some of the recent… Read More... UKCRC TDCC announces collaboration with Medicines Discovery Catapult October 18, 2017 - UKCRC TDCC announces collaboration with Medicines Discovery Catapult A new collaboration between the UKCRC TDCC and the Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) will aim to help UK medical research companies access appropriately consented human biological samples to carry out their potentially life-saving work. The MDC aims to support the creation and growth of medicines and diagnostic… Read More... UKCRC TDCC collaborates with SCIENTIST.com to ensure quality of human biosample acquisition globally October 18, 2017 - UKCRC TDCC collaborates with SCIENTIST.com to ensure quality of human biosample acquisition globally The UKCRC TDCC and Scientist.com have announced plans to work together to develop opportunities for biobanks in the UK to connect to potential researchers across the globe. Philip Quinlan, Director of the UKCRC TDCC said 'The aim is to enable biobanks throughout… Read More... UKCRC TDCC collaborates with BC Platforms to provide a unique research platform to over 150 human sample resources in the UK October 18, 2017 - UKCRC TDCC collaborates with BC Platforms to provide a unique research platform to over 150 human sample resources in the UK BC Platforms, a leader in genomic data management and analysis solutions, has announced a collaboration with the UKCRC TDCC to explore the development of a unique research platform for more than 150 human sample… Read More... UKCRC TDCC secures future funding October 18, 2017 - UKCRC TDCC secures future funding The UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) have announced that they will be funding the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre until 2020. The University of Nottingham and University College London (UCL) have been awarded a renewal of funding to continue the efforts of the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre… Read More... UK Biobank of the Year 2017 September 8, 2017 - Applications are now open for UK Biobank of the year 2017! The UKCRC TDCC is dedicated to supporting and promoting those who provide researchers with fit-for-purpose samples and data in the UK. The Biobank of the Year Award recognises the sterling work of human tissue resources in biobanking and seeks to recognise the one that… Read More... ISO Biobank Standards August 7, 2017 - ISO Biobank Standards Assuring researchers as to the quality or standard of a Biobank is an important issue. We are here to keep you abreast of all the latest developments in the field. You may have heard that new ISO Biobank standards are coming soon, but who is writing them and how can you get… Read More... Services available for new BBMRI.uk network July 21, 2017 - Services available for new BBMRI.uk network The UKCRC TDCC is the UK's node within BBRMI-ERIC; we can also, therefore, be referred to as BBMRI.uk. This membership means we are part of a much larger European effort and as a result the services BBMRI develop are available to UK Biobanks. We are initiating our own BBMRI.uk… Read More... New HTA codes of practice May 17, 2017 - New HTA codes of practice In April the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) published updated Codes of practice. This guest blog by Regulation Manager, Fiona Maleady-Crowe explains what this means for Biobanks. What are the Codes of Practice? The HTA’s Codes of Practice provide practical guidance on the human tissue legislation and set out the HTA’s… Read More... NC3Rs Workshop: Human tissue models for cancer research March 2, 2017 - NC3Rs Workshop: Human tissue models for cancer research On 1st and 2nd of March , the UKCRC TDCC attended the NC3Rs workshop: Human tissue models for cancer research. Here, we outline the day’s events and what we learned. The first day was opened by Prof Gareth Thomas who gave a pathologists perspective, highlighting the importance… Read More... Only a minority of biobanks have a publicly available access policy January 20, 2017 - A recent study has found that only around 9% of biobanks have a publicly available access policy. Given that most biobanks are funded by the public, there is an expectation that the samples they contain are made available for external research purposes that could ultimately have a social benefit. But for this to happen, clear… Read More... Directory registration now a condition of REC favourable opinion December 1, 2016 - Directory registration now a condition of REC favourable opinion The UK Ethics Committee Authority (UKECA) have now made registration in the UKCRC Tissue Directory a condition of the Research Ethics Committee (REC) favorable opinion for research tissue banks (RTB). The Research Ethics Committee favour collection of tissue for future research use by research tissue banks,… Read More... Putting Patients First November 30, 2016 - Putting Patients First UKCRC TDCC attended Patients First on 28th November, 2016 - an event co-hosted by ABPI and AMRC. Here we outline the day’s events and what we can learn from the topics discussed. The event was opened by Aisling Burnand, AMRC, with an inspiring quote by Mary Mead, 'Never doubt that a small… Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase 2016 November 18, 2016 - UK Biobanking Showcase 2016 The UKCRC TDCC's annual meeting was held on 16th November, at the Kia Oval in London. UK Biobanking Showcase was a unique opportunity to bring together all stakeholders in the field. The day kicked off with a brief introductory video on the centre; Prof. Dame Jessica Corner, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at The University… Read More... UK Biobank of the year 2016 – shortlist announced! November 7, 2016 - UK Biobank of the year 2016 - shortlist announced! We are dedicated to promoting Biobanks and tissue custodians that go above and beyond in facilitating ground breaking research. We have asked researchers to nominate biobanks that have made their work possible. The shortlisted Biobanks for 2016 are: ALSPAC CCLG Tissue Bank Ethical Tissue Generation Scotland… Read More... The UK Biobanking Timebomb: Maintaining Public Trust in Medical Research October 26, 2016 - The UK Biobanking Timebomb: Maintaining Public Trust in Medical Research On the 25th October, The UKCRC Tissue Coordination Centre attended an event in parliament organised by The University of Nottingham. The UK Biobanking Timebomb: Maintaining Public Trust in Medical Research was ran as part of Nottingham in Parliament day. The day saw more than 2,500… Read More... Working together: Collaboration in the cancer biobanking landscape October 19, 2016 - 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… Read More... Nottingham takes Biobanking to Parliament September 26, 2016 - Nottingham takes Biobanking to Parliament The University of Nottingham will be taking Biobanking to Parliament next month. The UK Biobanking Timebomb: Maintaining Public Trust in Medical Research will be held at 2.30pm on the 25th October in Westminster as part of Nottingham in Parliament day. The day will be a celebration of the leadership… Read More... UKCRC TDCC attends Europe Biobank Week 2016 September 19, 2016 - UKCRC TDCC attends Europe Biobank Week 2016The UKCRC Tissue Coordination Cente attended Europe Biobank Week last week in its capacity as BBMRI.uk. The event was jointly organized by ESBB and BBMRI-ERIC and was a great opportunity to meet with the global biobank community. The week kicked off with a string quartet to reflect Vienna’s musical… Read More... The UKCRC Tissue Directory is now Live! August 10, 2016 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory is now Live! The UKCRC Tissue Directory is now live for medical researchers wanting to source human tissue for their studies. The Directory is intended to be a first port of call for researchers needing human samples; it has functionality to search for both collections and capabilities. This means if it… Read More... Biobank of the Year Awards 2016 July 14, 2016 - Biobank of the Year Awards 2016 Nominations for this awards are now closed. We are keen to promote and encourage Biobanks that go above and beyond in facilitating ground breaking research. We therefore encourage researchers to nominate biobanks that have made their work possible. Shortlisted candidates will be presented at our annual meeting UK Biobanking… Read More... Annual Meeting Registration Now Open! June 22, 2016 - Annual Meeting Registration Now Open! The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre's Annual meeting will be held at The Oval, London on the 16th November. UK Biobanking Showcase will be a chance to celebrate Biobanking in the UK. On the day, we'll showcase the range of exciting biobanking capabilities in the UK. There'll be debates,… Read More... Centre at the UK Biobank Annual meeting June 16, 2016 - UKCRC TDCC at UK Biobank annual meeting On the 13th June the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre attended the first annual meeting of UK Biobank. UK Biobank is one of the larger Biobanks in the UK with 500,000 participants enrolled. The event coincided with the 10 year anniversary of the UK Biobank and celebrated… Read More... Centre staff receives Public engagement award February 11, 2016 - Jessica Sims, Project and Engagement Manager for the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre, has received University College London's Provost's Award for Public Engager of the Year (Professional Services Staff) for her work in public engagement in biobanking. The award recognised Jessica's recent project developing a biobanking board game to simulate the process of real-life… Read More... BBMRI-LPC Third Scientific Call for Access December 16, 2015 - A third BBMRI-LPC Scientific Call for Access is now being launched, building on the success of the first call in 2014 and the second call in spring 2015. BBMRI-LPC supports innovative research projects conducted in large prospective cohorts (LPC) across Europe. This Call for Access is an outstanding opportunity for European scientists to gain access… Read More... Poster prize award for biobanking board game project October 19, 2015 - The Centre recently presented a poster at the ESBB 2015 Annual Conference on our latest public engagement activity and were awarded the poster prize for the Education & Standards category. Our ‘Biobanking: the board game: Public engagement through table top game development’ outlined our UCL Beacon Bursary funded project that engaged people, who enjoy playing… Read More... Coordination of Biobanking in the UK October 19, 2015 - Coordination of Biobanking in the UK On 29 September 2015, the Centre held its first annual biobanking event. Coordination of Biobanking in the UK, marked the UK becoming the 17th Member State to join BBMRI-ERIC, and was organised alongside ESBB's 2015 Annual Conference to further connect to global developments in biobanking. Below you can find… Read More... BBMRI-LPC Scientific Call for Access now open June 15, 2015 - BBMRI-LPC Scientific Call for Access: Transnational Access to Large Prospective Cohorts in Europe The Call is an opportunity for European scientists to access, for free, unique collections of biosamples and data from participating Large Prospective Cohorts (LPS) across Europe. The deadline for this Call for Access is 15 June 2015. For more information on how… Read More... Fixing ligament tissue April 27, 2020 - Find out how the UKCRC Tissue Directory helped a researcher access the samples she needed for her research. Read More... Spotlight on: Sue Ring October 25, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet Sue Ring, Head of Laboratories and Executive Director of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) at the University of Bristol, to find out more about her work. Read More... Spotlight on: David Porteous October 16, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet David Porteous, Research Professor at the University of Edinburgh, to find out more about Generation Scotland. Read More... Spotlight on: Giuseppe Mazza October 16, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet Giuseppe Mazza, PhD., CEO and Co-Founder at Engitix Ltd to find out more about his work on developing acellular material from discarded human tissue (extracellular matrix) and applying this unique biomaterial for modelling human diseases such as fibrosis and cancer with the aim of developing better therapeutics. Read More... Spotlight on: Kirstin Goldring October 16, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet Dr. Kirstin Goldring, Principal Scientist: Human Biological Sample Strategy and Governance at AstraZeneca, to find out more about her work. Read More... Spotlight on: Matt McLoughlin October 16, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet Matt McLoughlin, VP Compliance and Categories at Scientist.com, to find out more about his work in supporting the pharmaceutical industry access regulated services to drive their R&D pipelines forward. Read More... Spotlight on: Phil Stephens October 16, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet Phil Stephens from Cardiff University to find out more about the Cardiff University Biobank. Read More... Spotlight on: Jessica Mai Sims March 6, 2019 - In our latest blog post we meet our Engagement Manager, Collaborations Jessica Sims, to find out more about her role and future work at the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC). Read More... Biobanking at the University of Cardiff November 19, 2018 - UKCRC TDCC staff visited the University of Cardiff to learn about biobanking in Wales through talking to researchers and visiting the new Cardiff University Biobank (CUB) and Wales Cancer Bank. Read More... Spotlight On – Phil Quinlan November 13, 2018 - In our latest blog post we meet our Director, Phil Quinlan, to find out more about his role and future work at the UKCRC TDCC. Read More... Spotlight on: Erik Steinfelder September 21, 2018 - Spotlight on: Erik Steinfelder Erik Steinfelder is Director General of BBMRI-ERIC. Erik has completed a Bsc in Analytical Chemistry and a course in Foundations of Management. In 2008, he joined Thermo Fisher Scientific and as first Biobank Commercial Leader EMEA, he went on to head the complete biobank portfolio and range of activities. Additionally, between… Read More... Spotlight on: Dr Sharon King August 15, 2018 - Spotlight on: Dr Sharon King Dr Sharon King is Manager of the Tayside Biorepository in Dundee. The Tayside Biorepository is part of a wider Scottish Biorepository Network supported by the Chief Scientist Office. Sharon has worked within a variety of translational based projects using human tissues, including PLK1 repression in breast cancer where she was awarded the… Read More... Spotlight on: Professor Andrew Morris August 2, 2018 - Spotlight on: Professor Andrew Morris Professor Andrew Morris is the inaugural Director of Health Data Research UK (HDR UK). He is seconded from his position as Professor of Medicine, and Vice Principal of Data Science at the University of Edinburgh. Prior to this Andrew was Dean of Medicine at the University of Dundee and Chief… Read More... Spotlight on: Emma Lawrence January 25, 2018 - Spotlight on: Emma Lawrence In our latest blog post we meet Engagement Manager, Research, Dr Emma Lawrence to find out more about her role and future work at the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (UKCRC TDCC). What is your role and what does it involve? My job title is Engagement Manager for Research. It’s… Read More... Spotlight on: Gautam Mehta December 23, 2016 - Spotlight on: Gautam Mehta Job title: Honorary Consultant and Senior Lecturer, UCL Research Project: Gautam is exploring new ways to treat patients with liver failure and alcohol-related liver disease. Liver disease is the third commonest cause of preventable death in the UK and rates are rising rapidly, therefore new treatments are urgently needed. Gautam’s research involves… Read More... Spotlight on: Ethical Tissue August 26, 2016 - Spotlight on: Ethical Tissue Name: Ethical Tissue Location: University of Bradford What is your biobank for? One of our main objectives is utilising tissue for cutting edge research. It is vital that researchers get the necessary tissue to take the scientific and medical world forward in their ideas and developments in both medicine and technology.… Read More... Spotlight on: Ana Rio-Machin July 20, 2016 - Spotlight on: Ana Rio-Machin Job title: Postdoctoral Researcher at Barts Cancer Institute (BCI), Queen Mary University of London Research Project: Ana researches the genetic alterations (mutations) that are inherited in families who have leukaemia without a known cause, within a Bloodwise funded programme; 'Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) familial cases, where two or more affected individuals… Read More... GiveMySample.org – information for potential tissue donors December 3, 2019 - A free web resource for biobanks and medical researchers to share with their potential tissue donors. Read More... New customisable biobanking game developed to help educate patients October 17, 2019 - King’s Health Partners Cancer Biobank at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Focus Games have developed a digital biobanking game. Here, Dr. Cheryl Gillett, Head of Biobanking at King’s College London, tells us more. Read More... Patient data – balancing access and protection: All talk and no access? June 14, 2019 - Erinna reports on use MY data's workshop “Patient data – balancing access and protection: All talk and no access?”. The workshop focused on identifying issues preventing timely and appropriate access to patient data – and brainstorming ways to address those impediments. Read More... Public support for transparency in Biobanking August 1, 2018 - Public support for transparency in biobanking The HTA and HRA have released a report, Consent to use human tissue and linked health data in research. This report details results from a series of workshops where the public shared their views on the topic. Although intended for the HTA and HRA, it provides examples of how to… Read More... Yarning to Consent: engaging in biobanking stories via knitting March 1, 2018 - Yarning to Consent: engaging in biobanking stories via knitting An introduction to biobanking What does knitting have to do with Biobanking? I wouldn’t be offended if someone didn’t see a connection between knitting and biobanking. But, sometimes we need unlikely pairings to entice people to think about a new subject. I met a woman… Read More... Patient data and tissue samples – benefits, barriers and concerns May 17, 2017 - Patient data and tissue samples – benefits, barriers and concerns On 9th May, 2017, the UKCRC TDCC co-hosted the workshop 'Patient data and tissue samples – benefits, barriers and concerns' along with Use MY Data, Independent Cancer Patient's Voice (ICPV) and the NCRI's Cellular & Molecular Pathology (CM-Path) initiative. The event was a good opportunity… Read More... The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks May 10, 2017 - The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks Today, samples donated for medical research are anonymised so that any work performed on them cannot be traced back to the donor. But donation for research has not always worked like this. In 1951, tumour cells from a patient in the USA were grown and sent all over the… Read More... Centre staff receives Public engagement award February 11, 2016 - Jessica Sims, Project and Engagement Manager for the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre, has received University College London's Provost's Award for Public Engager of the Year (Professional Services Staff) for her work in public engagement in biobanking. The award recognised Jessica's recent project developing a biobanking board game to simulate the process of real-life… Read More... Poster prize award for biobanking board game project October 19, 2015 - The Centre recently presented a poster at the ESBB 2015 Annual Conference on our latest public engagement activity and were awarded the poster prize for the Education & Standards category. Our ‘Biobanking: the board game: Public engagement through table top game development’ outlined our UCL Beacon Bursary funded project that engaged people, who enjoy playing… Read More... The Future of UK Biobanking Coordination July 13, 2021 - Over the last 6 months the UKCRC TDCC has been undertaking a review of biobanking in the UK, to help shape a vision for the future. Find out more and have your say! Read More... UK Biobanking Showcase 2022 June 1, 2021 - The UK Biobanking Showcase is the UK's leading event for biobanks, researchers, patients and those interested in the use of human samples in research. Save the date for the UK Biobanking Showcase 2022! Read More... Capturing value through Researchfish September 2, 2020 - The Researchfish reporting system offers an opportunity to understand when human sample resources contribute in health research. The UKCRC TDCC spoke to stakeholders to explore potential. Read More... Biobanking under COVID-19: business, but not as usual June 29, 2020 - Catch up on the webinar from 22nd June with Lee Murphy, Genetics Manager at Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility. Read More... Advancing our understanding of Breast Cancer May 26, 2020 - Find out how the UKCRC Tissue Directory helped a researcher access the samples he needed for his research. Read More... Wales Cancer Bank amends ethics to support COVID-19 research May 21, 2020 - In response to the UKCRC TDCC call, this biobank sought an ethics amendment to enable them to support COVID-19 research. Read More... Maximising the value of tissue from COVID-19 patients May 15, 2020 - The UKCRC TDCC has brokered a relationship between three organisations enabling vital coronavirus research. Read More... Maximising the use, value and impact of tissue samples: Webinar debrief April 30, 2020 - Did you miss our April webinar hosted by Scientist.com? Catch up on this blog. Read More... Fixing ligament tissue April 27, 2020 - Find out how the UKCRC Tissue Directory helped a researcher access the samples she needed for her research. Read More... UK tissue for global diagnostics April 20, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory has enabled a multinational science and technology company to successfully source tissue samples from three UK biobanks. Read More... COVID-19: biobanking call out March 27, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) is coordinating biobanking efforts to support research into COVID-19; developing a process to ensure that active biobanks receive requests which are relevant for their collections and capabilities. Read More... UK Biobanks supporting priority research areas March 16, 2020 - Find out how UK biobanks are supporting research priorities identified by patients, carers and clinicians. Read More... UK Biobank of the Year award 2020 March 2, 2020 - Applications for the UK Biobank of the Year Award 2020 are open! Now in its 5th year, the Award recognises human sample resources who have added significant value to high impact research. Read More... ATLAS: Advanced data search tool for researchers February 24, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (TDCC) is proud to be a partner in launching a new data search tool for researchers on 26th February. Register now to use the tool. Read More... Researchfish: evidencing use of Human Sample Resources January 30, 2020 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre has produced a guide for researchers on how to acknowledge use of Human Sample Resources in Researchfish submissions. Read More... Transparency Principles December 19, 2019 - The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre has launched a set of Transparency Principles. The Principles outline how transparency can be sustained throughout the research life cycle, ensuring biobanks and donors know who is using their samples. Read More... GiveMySample.org – information for potential tissue donors December 3, 2019 - A free web resource for biobanks and medical researchers to share with their potential tissue donors. Read More... Survey of potential biobank users in Germany November 15, 2019 - The German Biobank Node (GBN), which is part of BBMRI-ERIC, asked more than 330 “potential biobank users” at university hospitals about their attitudes towards collaborating with biobanks. Here, Dr. Cornelia Specht, managing director of the GBN, tells us about the survey results and conclusions. Read More... New customisable biobanking game developed to help educate patients October 17, 2019 - King’s Health Partners Cancer Biobank at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Focus Games have developed a digital biobanking game. Here, Dr. Cheryl Gillett, Head of Biobanking at King’s College London, tells us more. Read More... Understanding Animal Research with human samples August 2, 2019 - In this post we hear from John Meredith, Head of Education and Outreach at Understanding Animal Research to find out more about human samples and animal research. Read More... Collaborators needed for new Keratinocyte Cancer Collaborative January 24, 2018 - Collaborators needed for new Keratinocyte Cancer Collaborative Thanks to the registration of skin cancer pathology reports, the biggest database on skin cancer in the world now exists through Public Health England (PHE) with input from the devolved nations. In order to build on this resource a new UK Keratinocyte Cancer Collaborative (UKKCC) is being established… Read More... Sustainability Survey July 20, 2017 - This guest post by biobank researchers Daniel Simeon-Dubach; Kirstin Goldring and Marianne K Henderson introduces a current biobank sustainability survey. Read More... Biobanks and Business planning February 22, 2017 - Many Biobanks are under pressure to adopt more sustainable, business-like mentalities in the future. The results of a ISBER survey on business planning in the Biobanking community is outlined in this post. Read More... Only a minority of biobanks have a publicly available access policy January 20, 2017 - A recent study has found that only around 9% of biobanks have a publicly available access policy. Given that most biobanks are funded by the public, there is an expectation that the samples they contain are made available for external research purposes that could ultimately have a social benefit. But for this to happen, clear… Read More... Spotlight on: Gautam Mehta December 23, 2016 - Spotlight on: Gautam Mehta Job title: Honorary Consultant and Senior Lecturer, UCL Research Project: Gautam is exploring new ways to treat patients with liver failure and alcohol-related liver disease. Liver disease is the third commonest cause of preventable death in the UK and rates are rising rapidly, therefore new treatments are urgently needed. Gautam’s research involves… Read More... Spotlight on: Ana Rio-Machin July 20, 2016 - Spotlight on: Ana Rio-Machin Job title: Postdoctoral Researcher at Barts Cancer Institute (BCI), Queen Mary University of London Research Project: Ana researches the genetic alterations (mutations) that are inherited in families who have leukaemia without a known cause, within a Bloodwise funded programme; 'Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) familial cases, where two or more affected individuals… Read More... A qualification for biobankers: the ISBER and ASCP BOC Qualification in Biorepository Science December 10, 2021 - Two leading bioscience organisations recently joined forces to develop a new professional qualification for biobankers around the world. Read on to find out more about the QBRS. Read More... GDPR for Biobanks – A sheep in wolf’s clothing? February 7, 2020 - In our latest blog post we hear from Heather Coupar from MRC’s Regulatory Support Centre about General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Read More... GiveMySample.org – information for potential tissue donors December 3, 2019 - A free web resource for biobanks and medical researchers to share with their potential tissue donors. Read More... New customisable biobanking game developed to help educate patients October 17, 2019 - King’s Health Partners Cancer Biobank at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Focus Games have developed a digital biobanking game. Here, Dr. Cheryl Gillett, Head of Biobanking at King’s College London, tells us more. Read More... MRC Regulatory Support Centre Human Tissue Forum August 5, 2019 - In this post, we hear from Jessica to find out more about the MRC Regulatory Support Centre’s recent Human Tissue Forum meeting. Read More... Environmental Sustainability in Biobanking January 18, 2019 - In this post we hear from Martin Farley, Sustainable Laboratory Advisor at UCL to find out more about environmental sustainability in the lab. Read More... Biobank support and resources for those working with human tissue March 19, 2018 - Biobank support and resources for those working with human tissue Biobanking and research involving human tissue and data are governed by specific regulations and are guided by existing best practice. We've made a list of key organisations that provide biobank support and resources for research involving human data and tissue. MRC Regulatory Support Centre The… Read More... BBMRI-ERIC quality management programme November 15, 2017 - In this blog post we find out more about BBMRI-ERIC's work on quality management service and how you can get involved. Read More... ISO Biobank Standards August 7, 2017 - ISO Biobank Standards Assuring researchers as to the quality or standard of a Biobank is an important issue. We are here to keep you abreast of all the latest developments in the field. You may have heard that new ISO Biobank standards are coming soon, but who is writing them and how can you get… Read More... Services available for new BBMRI.uk network July 21, 2017 - Services available for new BBMRI.uk network The UKCRC TDCC is the UK's node within BBRMI-ERIC; we can also, therefore, be referred to as BBMRI.uk. This membership means we are part of a much larger European effort and as a result the services BBMRI develop are available to UK Biobanks. We are initiating our own BBMRI.uk… Read More... New HTA codes of practice May 17, 2017 - New HTA codes of practice In April the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) published updated Codes of practice. This guest blog by Regulation Manager, Fiona Maleady-Crowe explains what this means for Biobanks. What are the Codes of Practice? The HTA’s Codes of Practice provide practical guidance on the human tissue legislation and set out the HTA’s… Read More... Biobanks and Business planning February 22, 2017 - Many Biobanks are under pressure to adopt more sustainable, business-like mentalities in the future. The results of a ISBER survey on business planning in the Biobanking community is outlined in this post. Read More... HRA publishes new proportionate consent guidance February 1, 2017 - The Health Research Authority (HRA) have published new guidance on taking a proportionate approach to consent, particularly in reference to clinical trials. Read More... Accreditation June 8, 2016 - Accreditation Review of the CCB’s pilot audit scheme Background Biobanking is recognised as a critical area requiring development if progress is to be made in identifying clinically useful markers of disease and disease progression, discovering new drug targets and understanding the mechanisms of disease in cancer. Researchers continue to report that they are unable to… Read More... Access Template June 8, 2016 - Access Template The access policy could be one of the most important documents that you as a Biobank will create as it will define so much of the interactions you are likely to have with researchers. Starting from scratch can be a daunting process, but luckily, the NCRI have created a template document. It sets… Read More... Personas June 8, 2016 - User Personas We have been undertaking a review of the different stakeholders in Biobanking to understand how different people may interact with our biobank directory. This work was undertaken by the user-experience team at the University of Nottingham and the outputs are below to be viewed. These are generalisations but useful for us to understand… Read More...