Northern biobank will fill health knowledge gaps in rural, First Nations communities
"The creation of a northern biobank will kickstart research and ultimately enable health-care professionals to tailor programs and treatments to improve the lives of rural and First Nations communities.
A biobank is essentially a collection tissue and blood samples that will help paint a clearer picture of the health impacts of the unique environments of northern B.C., the illnesses that northern populations face and their genetic profile.
The samples — which include healthy tissues and diseased tissue such as tumours — and detailed but anonymous health information are key to population-based health research and informing cutting-edge treatments.
“Because there has never been a biobank in the North, these communities have been really isolated and had minimal access to this type of research infrastructure,” said Nadine Caron, associate professor at the University of B.C.’s department of surgery and an academic physician at the University of Northern B.C."
Read the full article published in The Province, January 11, 2017.