About this Class

We invite you to attend the Biobanking for Precision Medicine seminar series.

The seminar series is brought to you by NCI’s Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research Branch (BBRB) and addresses current topics in biobanking science, policy and operations. In the era of precision medicine, high quality biospecimens are central to understanding complex diseases, biomarker discovery and unraveling the mechanisms of resistance to therapies. This seminar series is intended to be forward-looking with a focus on improving awareness of best practices for collection of biospecimens and associated data as well as expanding research participation through biobanking.

Our focus for fall/winter 2023 is on the theme of data sharing in biobanking studies and research that uses biospecimens. The seminar by Drs. Guidry Auvil and Boja is the first of a five-part mini-series on this topic.

Abstract: NCI, in line with U.S. government policies, strongly advocates for equitable data sharing and collaborative science across the cancer research community for the benefit of those afflicted with or at risk for cancer. With modern technology and tools, experts can glean powerful insights from high-quality structured data associated with biospecimens used for research, exponentially faster and more accurately than ever before. Through the studies it funds, NCI collects high-quality biospecimens and associated data, multiple types of clinical care, population studies, and scientific research data that collectively can provide a comprehensive understanding of cancer subtypes, inform therapeutic strategies, and promote public health. To this end, NCI has established an Office of Data Sharing (ODS) focused on developing and implementing an approach to data sharing that maximizes utility of diverse data types across cancer studies in line with government policy expectations and regulations. Drs. Guidry Auvil and Boja, from ODS, will discuss the vision and direction of data sharing for NCI studies that use biospecimens, including how key data initiatives can provide a framework of data assembly, infrastructure, and utility that are aimed at bridging patient care, public health, and cancer research through aligned and consistent approaches to data sharing.

For more information, please contact Dr. Veena Gopalakrishnan