Alfred Cancer Biobank
The Alfred Cancer Biobank is a collaborative platform. Established in late 2019 by Alfred Health and Monash University, our mission is to support innovative cancer research projects that aim to improve patient outcomes.
We do this by storing donated biospecimens (samples) from people who have been diagnosed with various cancers. These samples can then be used in targeted research aimed at improving cancer treatments and outcomes.
What is a biobank?
A biobank is a way to store samples from patients that may be useful for research studies. Samples can be of different types including tissues, cells, blood, saliva, faecal matter and urine. These are collectively called “biospecimens”. These samples are precious resources for researchers because they contain a lot of information about the biology of human health and disease, and can be used for a wide variety of research now and in years to come.
How does the Alfred Cancer Biobank work?
The Alfred Cancer Biobank provides the expertise needed to connect patients treated across Alfred Health and its partner organisations, with cancer researchers seeking to move their discoveries closer to clinical applications.
Working with consumer advisors and clinicians, we have developed workflows to collect biospecimens from consenting patients.
After these samples are collected and processed in our laboratories, they are then stored before distribution to researchers for an approved project. Some of our current projects include working on melanoma, prostate cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer.
Allowing researchers to access and study these samples can give us a better understanding of cancer, enabling better tests and treatments to be developed.
If you have been asked to participate in the Alfred Cancer Biobank, visit our biospecimen donor webpage for more information.
Our Projects
We support cancer research projects that are of high ethical and scientific standards. Before allowing researchers to use our biospecimens and services, we require their projects to be approved and authorised by the Alfred Hospital Ethics Committee and the Access Committee.
To learn more about submitting a research project request, please visit our webpage, or you can visit our research projects page for details on current and past research projects.
Our Governance
Our overall governance is overseen by the Steering Committee, which contains oncology clinicians, scientists and at least two consumer advisors. The Steering Committee meets 1-2 times every year to review our performance and provide strategic directions of future biobanking activities.
Reporting to the Steering Committee, the Access Committee contains nominated members of the Steering Committee. This Committee meets every few months to review new project requests, discuss strategies of stakeholder engagement and identify opportunities of collaborations.
There are also additional scientists and consumer advisors, who contribute, on an ad hoc basis, to matters related to their expertise.
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Our sponsors
The Alfred Cancer Biobank is proudly supported by The Alfred Foundation and The Foster Foundation.
Being a biospecimen donor
Biospecimen samples are crucial for research into the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.
Find out moreHow you can support ACB
As a not-for-profit platform, we do not make money from supporting our researchers, and rely on community advisors, donations and sponsorships.
Find out moreSubmitting a research project request
With a wide-ranging team of experts, we can provide end-to-end services and consultations.
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