Successful Symposium for the VCB

Presentations were given by researchers from Peter Mac, WEHI, Royal Melbourne Hospital, St Vincent’s, Prince Henry’s, Southern Health, as well as interstate representation from the Garvan Institute (NSW) and CSIRO (SA).

Audience members were provided with a snapshot of some of the research undertaken using the broad range biospecimens and services provided by the Biobank. See below for a list of presentations:

• Fresh is best: using fresh tumour tissue to model cancer progression – Dr Mark Shackleton (Peter Mac)
• Carcinoma of unknown primary – sorting out a clinical conundrum – Prof David Bowtell (Peter Mac)
• Identification of lung stem/progenitor cells using fresh human lung tissue – Dr Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat (WEHI)
• The Aperio Digital Pathology System in pathology research – Dr Michael Christie
• The value of federated data linkage in facilitating translational research – Maureen Turner (CEO, BioGrid)
• VeRSI and VPAC / linkage to VERNet; benefits to researchers – Dr Ann Borda (CEO, VPAC)
• Insights into Potential Gene Targets from the Clinical Lung Cancer Genome Project – Prof Gavin Wright (St Vincent’s Hospital)
• A multiplex panel for the early detection of colorectal cancer- the resolving challenge – Dr Leah Cosgrove (CSIRO)
• Translational Genomics in Pancreatic Cancer – Amber Johns (Garvan Institute, NSW)
• Clinical trial, biomarker research and the VCB: the clinician’s perspective – Dr Jeanne Tie (WEHI)
• Tissue microarrays to explore the link between obesity and breast cancer – Dr Kristy Brown (Prince Henry’s Institute)
• Exploring the molecular pathology of epithelial thyroid tumours – Dr Michael Mond (Southern Health/Eastern Health)

The Biobank would like to thank the presenters, as well as the session Chairs and forum panellists for volunteering their time to make the day a success.

The Symposium was a wonderful opportunity for the research community to find out how the Biobank is supporting translational research, and it was also a chance for biobank staff to see firsthand some of the outcomes from their work in the lab processing biospecimens for various projects. In response to the positive feedback received, it is most likely that the Symposium will now be an annual event for the Biobank.

Click here to view the photo gallery.