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News

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Upcoming Events

Ontario Biobanks will be presenting a poster at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference on November 2-4, 2025 in Calgary, AB.

We will be holding our annual workshop on Thursday May 28, 2026. Stay tuned for more details!

Past Workshops hosted by Ontario Biobanks

2025 Workshop

Reviewed the recent progress and future plans for the proposed biobank network, and launched our new name and logo.

Guest speakers:
Christopher Mueller, Sr. Scientist and Professor, Queen’s University; President and CEO, mDETECT
Carol Gordon, Patient Partner, OICR

2024 Workshop

Finalized the charter of the proposed biobank network.

Guest speakers:
Scott Bratman, Radiation Oncologist and Senior Scientist, UHN; Co-founder and CIO, Adela
Jessica Rosenbloom, Patient Partner, SickKids

2023 Workshop

Established the proposed biobank network.

Guest speakers:
Anne-Marie Mes-Masson, Director, Réseau de recherche sur le cancer du Fonds de recherche du Québec-Santé (FRQS)
Peter Watson, Director, Biobanking and Biospecimen Research Services (BBRS)

2022 Workshop

Gathered initial interest in the development of a biobank network.

Events & Outreach

  • “Facilitating Research Access and Biobank Sustainability: Creation of a Collaborative Network of Independent Oncology Biobanks” presented at the ISBER Annual Meeting (Montreal, QC; May 12-16, 2025).
  • “A proposed provincial oncology biobank network facilitating researcher access to high-quality samples and data” presented at the Unity Health Toronto Cancer Research Symposium (Toronto, ON; November 15, 2024).
  • “Association of Ontario Tumour Banks: A proposed collaborative biobank network led by the Ontario Tumour Bank” presented at the ISBER Regional Meeting (St. Petersburg, FL; November 6, 2024).
  • “Association of Ontario Tumour Biobanks (AOTB):  A proposed provincial network to expand academic and industry research capacity” presented at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference (Halifax, NS; November 12, 2023)