An update on the Victorian Cancer Biobank

As you know, the Victorian Cancer Biobank has been funded through the Victorian Government for the past 7 years. This longstanding support has enabled VCB to build up a substantial collection of annotated tissue samples for cancer research and to implement ‘value-added’ components, such as the construction of tissue microarrays and DNA and RNA extraction. Following this successful implementation phase, the focus of VCB will now also include project-specific collections for cancer research with further efforts to incorporate the clinical annotation of coded samples. The Victorian Cancer Agency has indicated its ongoing support for the momentum achieved by VCB. Due to funding constraints, however, it will be necessary to introduce changes to VCB.

The Consortium Committee considers the central application process and centralised dispatch process to be key attributes of the Victorian Cancer Biobank that should not change. Quality assurance is also an essential part of our VCB operations. However, modification of certain aspects of central operations will be required to help reduce costs without affecting key service provision at VCB nodes in Victoria. These changes include:

• Introduction of a Manager to oversee the operations of VCB. A key priority of the Manager will be to focus on supporting tissue collection and distribution for cancer research in Victoria, with less emphasis on international operations. This position will supersede the current Chief Executive Officer role.
• Devolving the role of the Operations, Quality and Training Manager, currently held by Paul Pinto Correia, to sites under the oversight of the Manager.

The Consortium Committee believes the Victorian Cancer Biobank will continue to deliver high quality services using the same successful model of service. This includes considerable in kind contributions from VCB sites across Victoria.

Anne Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, VCB, has been integral to the success of the Victorian Cancer Biobank since it began operations in 2006. She has worked tirelessly to establish the Victorian Cancer Biobank and has forged successful relationships across many institutions. Anne has been a wonderful leader to the staff at the VCB Central Operations and sites and has displayed tremendous professionalism over the past two years when funding has been uncertain. The Consortium Committee thanks Anne for her passionate contribution to the Victorian Cancer Biobank and wishes her all the best in her future endeavours.

If you have any queries about the changes, please don’t hesitate to contact myself or any of the Consortium Committee members.

Ian Campbell
Chair, VCB Consortium Committee

P: + 61 (0)3 9635 5091
F: + 61 (0)3 9635 5540
www.viccancerbiobank.org.au

1 Rathdowne St Carlton, VICTORIA 3053, Australia