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Past Workshops hosted by Ontario Biobanks
➤2026 Workshop
Reviewed the recent progress of the development of the Federated Catalogue, and the future priorities of the network pertaining to biobank utilization & sustainability.
Agenda
Guest speakers:
Geoff Wood, Co-Director, Ontario Veterinary College Veterinary Biobank
Terry Hawrysh, Patient Partner, Ontario Tumour Bank
Patient Partners of Ontario Biobanks – Dawn Barker, Anne Leishman, Lucy Ioannoni, Katie Lark, Vinesha Ramasamy
Helen Dimaras, Principal Investigator, Kids Eye Biobank, The Hospital for Sick Children
➤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
- “Ontario Biobanks: Where research meets resources of oncology samples and data” presented at the OICR Research Impact Conference (Toronto, ON; March 23, 2026).
- “Ontario Biobanks: Where research meets resources of oncology samples and data” presented at the Unity Health Toronto Cancer Research Symposium (Toronto, ON; November 27, 2025).
- “Ontario Biobanks: Where research meets resources of oncology samples and data” presented at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference (Calgary, AB; November 1-4, 2025).
- “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).