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The Marble Arch Working Group on International Biobanking was created in response to a growing need to harmonize approaches in regional and national Biobanks that address the critical issues in managing a modern human specimen Biobank. The participant funded Marble Arch group has proven to be an invaluable forum for the candid exchange of information, ideas and expertise.
Following the inaugural meeting in London in December 2005, the Marble Arch Working Group gained significant visibility in the respective member organisations and the scientific community at large. With the recognition the group has received to date, it is anticipated the Marble Arch Working Group will be a relevant scientific voice on Biobanking human specimens for research.
The 2nd meeting of the Marble Arch Working Group, hosted by the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas in Madrid, was attended by 19 expert participants and was honoured with the presence of two guest speakers, one from the World Health Organisation - International Agency for Research on Cancer
and the other from the United States - National Cancer Institute.
Ten countries were represented from 3 continents.
The following topics were addressed at the meeting:
- Privacy Protection and the potential impact research;
- Cost Recovery and Researcher Requirements;
- US:NCI initiatives (focus on International harmonization efforts and caBIG).
The Marble Arch Working Group also aims to develop a public website to provice information about its activities. |
