Office of Biobank Education and Research (OBER)
The Office of Biobank Education and Research (OBER) is an integral part of the UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. We are a resource for Faculty, Staff and Students in the Department and provide advice and support services for basic translational and clinical researchers in BC and beyond.
Mission:
To provide support for biobanks through education on biospecimen science and communication of best practices and standards for biobanking, in order to advance translational health research.
Overall objective:
To establish an international centre of excellence in biobanking education and biospecimen based translational research.
Specific Goals:
- create and deliver education and training for a range of stakeholders involved in biobanking
- facilitate registration/certification of biobanks in coordination with provincial and national and international biobanking organizations
- develop and deploy mechanisms to communicate common protocols, standards and policies for biobanking
- promote establishment and maintenance of biobanks to support biospecimen based translational research in BC and beyond
Our partners:
OBER is an integral entity along with the Canadian Tissue Repository Network (CTRNet) of the Biobanking and Biospecimen Research Services (BBRS) – a provincial program that provides services, support, and advice to researchers and biobanks on accessing, collecting, and utilizing human biospecimens and associated data for health research. More about the BBRS and how we work together to bring full biospecimen lifecycle services and education can be found here: https://www.bbrsbiobanking.ca/.