Texas A&M University Hosts Meeting to Discuss Veterinary Biobanking
COLLEGE STATION, TX-The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) hosted a workshop on April 9-11 to address the future of veterinary biobanking. The participants convened at the new Texas A&M Veterinary & Biomedical Education Complex (VBEC) to discuss lessons learned from building human and veterinary biobanks.
“When Dr. Patty Olson called to inquire about our interest in hosting a biobanking workshop at the CVM, we were elated and our response was a resounding yes,” said Dr. Eleanor M. Green, the Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine.”Biobanking has evolved from a novel idea to an essential resource in medical and veterinary research and offers seemingly unlimited potential in personalized medicine. Biobanks of varying size and complexity are being created widely across the globe and early criteria for accredited biobanks have been established; nonetheless, maximizing the benefits of biobanks relies on common standards and consistency in everything from sample collection to sample access.
“Selected leaders in veterinary and human biobanking were brought together to share expertise and experiences with the ultimate goal of creating consistency,” Green said. “The contributions of each and every workshop participant were superb. This group will certainly remain active and connected, as ideas are shared freely within the scientific community.
“We are especially grateful to the sponsors-the AKC Canine Health Foundation, Mars Veterinary, Morris Animal Foundation, Sidney E. Frank Foundation, and Westie Foundation,” Green said. “I would also like to thank Dr. Bob Burghardt, the CVM associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies, and his team for organizing the workshop.”
The biobanking team also discussed the challenges that are unique to veterinary biobanking in relation to the best practices for repositories, as developed by the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories. The procurement of high-quality biospecimens will be critical for future academic research, through which animal and human health might be further advanced. Such samples also will be important to the many industries developing new therapies or diets to treat and/or prevent disease.
The participants included:
Dr. Holly Borghese, The Ohio State University
Dr. Marta Castelhano, Cornell University
Dr. Kate Creevy, Texas A&M; University
Dr. Urs Giger, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Sue Lana, Colorado State University
Dr. Jonathan Levine, Texas A&M; University
Ms. Christina Mazcko, National Institutes of Health
Ms. Piper Mullin, Pan-Smithsonian Cryo-Initiative
Dr. Bill Murphy, Texas A&M; University
Dr. Stephen O’Brien, St. Petersburg State University
Dr. Patricia Olson
Dr. Kristy Richards, Weill Cornell Medicine
Dr. Jan Suchodolski, Texas A&M; University
Dr. Doris Taylor, Texas Heart Institute
Dr. Canaan Whitfield-Cargile, Texas A&M; University
Dr. Heather Wilson-Robles, Texas A&M; University
Dr. Vilma Yuzbasiyan-Gurkan, Michigan State University
The results and impacts of this workshop will be shared within the veterinary profession, academic community, research community, and constituent groups in a variety of ways.
If you would like to receive periodic updates on the outcomes from this workshop, please subscribe to the veterinary biobanking listserv. To subscribe, please send an email to listserv@listserv.tamu.edu with the following information in the body of the message (replacing “firstname” with your first name and “lastname” with your last name): SUBSCRIBE veterinarybiobankinginformation firstname lastname.
