Professor Seán Hynes
Professor in Pathology, Discipline of Pathology, University of Galway
Consultant Histopathologist, Division of Anatomic Pathology, University Hospital Galway. Board member and Spokesperson of the Biobank Ireland Trust
Biobanks are the backbone of cancer research and a vital tool in understanding many illnesses, including rare diseases and cancers that need large numbers of samples to gain crucial insights.
Biobanks play one of the most important roles in medicine. By providing researchers with carefully curated samples and linking them with anonymised clinical data, biobanks help speed up the development of new tests, new treatments, and more personalised care for today’s and tomorrow’s cancer patients.
Patient-centred biobanks
For this to be meaningful, it must be done responsibly. Every sample collected in a biobank is stored and handled with strict quality and ethical standards, including consent.
In Ireland, however, biobanks are spread out across the country, which can make it harder for researchers to access the materials they need. The Biobank Ireland Trust, a charity founded in 2004, aims to change that by connecting these collections into a single, coordinated national network whilst always keeping patient voices at the centre of its work.
These samples are precious, and discoveries that lead to tomorrow’s cures will come from the biobank collections we build today.
Collaborative effort in building tomorrow’s cures
A biobank is more than a room of freezers. It takes a team of professionals to gather, label, store and look after each sample, whether it’s a small piece of tumour tissue, a blood sample, or medical images. These samples are precious, and discoveries that lead to tomorrow’s cures will come from the biobank collections we build today.
The Trust is already making real progress. It helps link biobanks across the Island from Biobanc na Gaillimhe and Trinity St James’s Biobank to Cork University Hospital, St Vincent’s University Hospital and the Northern Ireland Biobank. In October, the Trust and Biobanc na Gaillimhe held the first-ever All-Island Biobanking Symposium in Dublin, bringing experts together to focus on technical advances and the patient experience. The Trust is also working with Health Research Charities Ireland and the University of Galway to publish the first national ‘Biobanking in Ireland’ directory.
Our work is supported by our Biobank Warriors, volunteers who run marathons, compete in triathlons, organise golf events and more to raise vital funds.
