The establishment of Limerick’s first cancer ‘biobank’ is a significant milestone for cancer research that could help develop new treatments and better screening for the disease.
The biobank – a facility to store and manage biological samples for research purposes – was established in 2022 by both cancer researchers and clinicians from the and University Hospital Limerick as a joint venture.
The biobank resource will allow cancer patients engage in research and will transform research opportunities for scientists and clinicians.
The facility is located in the School of Medicine laboratory in the Clinical Education and Research Centre (CERC) building in UHL, which is jointly owned by the HSE and UL.
Funding for the facility was provided by the Limerick Digital Cancer Research Centre (LDCRC), which is based in UL, with Professor Elizabeth Ryan, Associate Professor in Immunology at UL and Research Assistant Alannah Morley working with Professor Ruth Clifford, Consultant Haematologist at UHL.
The biobank team began the process of applying for the required ethical approvals to set up the repository and it is now fully operational, marking a significant milestone for cancer research in Limerick.
Director of the LDCRC and Professor of Cancer Genomics at UL, Aedín Culhane, said: “A biobank empowers patients to partner in advancing cancer research. Patients motivated by a desire to help future patients, including their own families or communities, can contribute to the biobank, secure that their gift of tissue will be used to develop new, more effective treatments and screening methods, and bring us closer to overcoming cancer.”
The cancer biobank is professionally managed by UL Research Assistant and Biobanker, Alannah Morley, and has secure freezer storage for biological samples for various types of cancer research and meets ethical and legal best practice.
Ms Morley said: “The work is really interesting, it’s great to have a connection between hospital staff and researchers in UL because it makes the whole research process so much faster, that’s the main goal.
“Working in a hospital setting and being surrounded by patients is what motivates me. Hearing about patients' diagnostic and treatment journeys resonates with me, inspiring me to contribute positively to their journeys through research,” she added.
Ms Morley is the point of contact between the researchers and the clinical staff in UL. Donated patient tissue samples are transported from clinics to the biobanker in the lab, where she processes, tracks, and stores them.
The biobank facility also enables collaboration between the university. In her role as biobanker, Alannah represents the biobank at cancer research subgroup meetings at UHL, with surgeons, oncologists, haematologists, research and clinical staff where she gets to hear about upcoming projects or clinical trials.
The LDCRC is a multidisciplinary initiative dedicated to improving our understanding of the fundamental biology of cancer and using this new knowledge to find better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease. The research centre includes over 30 leading researchers who are developing advanced technology to study cancer.
The LDCRC and biobank team are now looking for patients to participate in breast cancer blood cancer and colorectal .