2017
Podcasts
Biobank Sustainability, Process Streamlining and the Upstream Impact of Clinical Care
Kerry R. Wiles, Program Director, Cooperative Human Tissue Network and Vanderbilt University Medical Center Tissue Repository, Vanderbilt University
A Donor Family’s Perspective: Observations on the Post-Mortem Tissue Donation Process for Biospecimen Research
Sarah Gray, Director, Communications, American Association of Tissue Banks and Author, A Life Everlasting: The Extraordinary Story of One Boy’s Gift to Medical Science
Book
A Life Everlasting: The Extraordinary Story of One Boy’s Gift to Medical Science (HarperCollins, 2016)
Sarah Gray, Director, Communications, American Association of Tissue Banks and Author, A Life Everlasting: The Extraordinary Story of One Boy’s Gift to Medical Science
When Sarah Gray received the devastating news that her unborn twin son Thomas was diagnosed with anencephaly, a terminal condition that meant he would not survive long beyond birth, she decided she wanted his death—and life—to have meaning. In the weeks before she gave birth to her sons in 2010, she arranged to donate Thomas’s organs to medical research. Later curious about how the donations were being used, Sarah embarked on a quest for those answers that took her to some of the most prestigious scientific facilities in the country, including those at Harvard, Duke, and the University of Pennsylvania. Pulling back the curtain of protocol and confidentiality, Sarah met the researchers and scientists who received Thomas’s donations, and learned how they’re being used in cutting-edge research for medical discoveries to benefit humanity.
Video
TED Talk of the Day (2015): How My Son’s Short Life Made a Lasting Difference
Sarah Gray, Director, Communications, American Association of Tissue Banks and Author, A Life Everlasting: The Extraordinary Story of One Boy’s Gift to Medical Science
Sarah Gray found meaning in tragic loss by donating the organs of her newborn son to advance scientific research.
2016
Podcasts
Biobanking Quality Control and Centralization & Biospecimen Collection for Genomic Research
Andrew Brooks, Ph.D., CSO, BioProcessing Solutions Alliance; Associate Professor, Genetics, Rutgers University
Sample Preprocessing, Circulating Nucleic Acids, Cancer Biomarkers, and Clinical Data
Anton Wellstein, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Oncology, Pharmacology and Medicine; Associate Director, Basic Science, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical School
PDX Models and Biobanking for Preclinical Drug Development
Susan Airhart, Senior Director, Strategic Opportunities and Product Development, The Jackson Laboratory
and Jens Rueter, M.D., Medical Director, Translational Research, EMMC Oncology Research Program, EMMC Cancer Care, Eastern Maine Medical Center
Video
TED@Intel Talk (2013): Health Care Should Be a Team Sport
Eric Dishman, Director, Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program, National Institutes of Health
2015
Speaker Interview
Pathology, Patient Biospecimens and Disease Processes
Sylvia L. Asa, M.D., Ph.D., Laboratory Medicine Program, University Health Network; Senior Scientist, Ontario Cancer Institute; Professor, Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto
Podcasts
Rapid Tissue Procurement and Robust Biospecimen Data for Cancer Research
Michael H. A. Roehrl, M.D., Ph.D., Director, UHN Program in BioSpecimen Sciences, University Health Network and University of Toronto
and Anthony M. Joshua, MBBS, Ph.D., Staff Oncologist/Affiliate Scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Michael Roehrl of the UHN Program in BioSpecimen Sciences and Anthony Joshua of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre speak to CHI on June 2, 2015. Drs. Roehrl and Joshua will be co-presenting a Case Study of their biobanker/biouser partnership at the Leaders in Biobanking Congress, July 14-16 in Toronto, Canada.
Topics include the Rapid Autopsy Program of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, the mutual influence of lab research and clinical practice work, biospecimen management and collection of robust data, patient contributions to cancer research and understanding cancer therapy resistance.
“The Best Biobank Is an Empty Biobank”: Ensuring High-Quality Biospecimens for Research
Suzanne Vercauteren, M.D., Ph.D., FRCPC, Head, Division of Hematopathology, BC Children’s Hospital and Clinical Assistant Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia
Suzanne Vercauteren of BC Children’s Hospital and University of British Columbia speaks to CHI on May 20, 2015. Dr. Vercauteren will be a presenter at the Leaders in Biobanking Congress, July 14-16 in Toronto, Canada.
Topics include biospecimen collection and storage of clinical data at the BCCH BioBank, practices for ensuring biobank sustainability, ethical and operational considerations of planning an institutional biobank for children and women, and the importance of public engagement.
2014
The Impact of Biobanks and Fit-for-Purpose Biospecimens on Precision Medicine
Carolyn Compton, M.D., Ph.D., CMO, National Biomarkers Development Alliance; CMO, Complex Adaptive Systems Institute; Adjunct Professor, Pathology, Mayo Medical School; Professor, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University
An-Dinh Nguyen interviews Dr. Compton on July 23, 2014. She will be a plenary keynote speaker at the Leaders in Biobanking Congress and Cancer Diagnosis at the Crossroads: Precision Medicine Driving Change event, September 15-17 in Seattle, WA.
Topics include effects of pre-analytical variables on human biospecimens during acquisition and processing, the importance of fit-for-purpose samples and how biobanks play a role in making personalized cancer therapies possible.
Precise Cancer Surgeries and Drug Treatments: Tumor Paint, Peptides and PDX Models
James M. Olson, M.D., Ph.D., Member, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Professor, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University of Washington; Attending Physician, Seattle Children’s Hospital; Founder, Presage Biosciences and Blaze Bioscience
An-Dinh Nguyen interviews Dr. Olson on July 18, 2014. He will be a plenary keynote speaker at the Leaders in Biobanking Congress and Cancer Diagnosis at the Crossroads: Precision Medicine Driving Change event, September 15-17 in Seattle, WA.
Topics include the scorpion venom-derived molecular imaging agent Tumor Paint and its potential applications for cancer treatment, optide therapeutics, drug research and development breakthroughs in pediatric brain tumors through PDX models and more.
The Business of Biobanking: Supporting Clinical Trials and Translational Research
Stephen Schmechel, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, UW Medicine Pathology and Director, NWBioTrust, University of Washington
An-Dinh Nguyen interviews Dr. Schmechel on July 17, 2014. He will be a short course instructor for Biobanking Is More than Sample Storage and Management and speaker at the Leaders in Biobanking Congress and Cancer Diagnosis at the Crossroads: Precision Medicine Driving Change event, September 15-17 in Seattle, WA.
Topics include critical business considerations for running biobanks to advance personalized medicine, support of translational research and clinical trials through a biobanker/biouser partnership and collaborations between University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Children's Hospital and elsewhere.
2013
Biospecimen Research and the Cohorts Biorepository
Sherilyn Sawyer, Ph.D., Scientific Director, BWH/Harvard Cohorts Biorepository, Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
An-Dinh Nguyen interviews Dr. Sawyer on September 10, 2013. She is a speaker for the Biospecimens and Translational Science session at the Leaders in Biobanking Congress, November 4-5, in Indianapolis, IN. Topics include the evolution of biospecimen collection and usage, biouser needs, future challenges and opportunities.
Sample Acquisition and Management: Biobanking Regulations and Improvements
Brian Chadwick, Managing Member and Consultant, LookLeft Group LLC
An-Dinh Nguyen interviews Mr. Chadwick of LookLeft Group LLC on September 10, 2013. He is a speaker for the Business of Running a Biobank session at the Leaders in Biobanking Congress, November 4-5, in Indianapolis, IN. Topics include regulatory compliance challenges of biospecimen management, software solutions, commercial vs. nonprofit biobanks, patient rights and more.
Biobanking and Biopreservation: The Promise, Problems and Solutions
Allison Hubel, Ph.D., Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Director, Biopreservation Core Resource, University of Minnesota
An-Dinh Nguyen interviews Dr. Hubel of the Biopreservation Core Resource at the University of Minnesota on September 5, 2013. She is a speaker for the Science of Supplying High-Quality Specimens session at the Leaders in Biobanking Congress, November 4-5, in Indianapolis, IN. Topics cover biobanking’s rising prominence, biospecimen collection and storage challenges, microfluidics applications for biopreservation and more.
From Biosamples to Pharmacogenomics
Amelia Warner, Pharm.D., Head, Clinical Pharmacogenomics and Clinical Specimen Management, Global Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs, Merck
Interviewed by Mary Ann Brown, Executive Director, Conferences, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
Cryopreservation: The Quest for Best Practices
John G. Baust, Ph.D., UNESCO Chair & Professor; Director, Institute of Biomedical Technology, Binghamton University; Editor-in-Chief, Biopreservation & Biobanking
Interviewed by Mary Ann Brown, Executive Director, Conferences, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
Developing Global Quality Controls and Standards
Andrew Brooks, Ph.D., Director of Operations, Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository
Interviewed by Mary Ann Brown, Executive Director, Conferences, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
Realistic and Cost-Effective Strategies to Extend ‘Next-Tech Assays’ to Tissue Samples
Galen Hostetter, M.D., Associate Investigator, Integrated Cancer Genomics Division; Head, Colorectal Cancer Research; Director, Tissue Microarray Core, TGen
Interviewed by Mary Ann Brown, Executive Director, Conferences, Cambridge Healthtech Institute