About Us

Our Program, Values and Mission, Bioethics and Privacy, Executive Committee, General Governance, Our Facility

Our Program

The PMCC CV Biobank collects, catalogues, and stores human biospecimens and clinical data from research participants with cardiovascular diseases for the purpose of unifying research across the PMCC. It is uniquely positioned to offer researchers access to centralized high-quality samples to advance novel research for the understanding, discovery, prevention and ultimately the cure of various cardiac illness.

Clinical collection time points for biospecimens are based on patient diagnosis and prognosis as well as input from our expert Cardiologist, Vascular and Cardiovascular Surgeons. The PMCC CV Biobank supports both retrospective and prospective studies. Biospecimens are catalogued using partnered information management systems (IMS). The IMS is federated into the digital health platform (DHP) enabling researchers to access and retrieve participant data and associated biospecimens.

Value and Mission

The PMCC CV Biobank operates within an academic not-for-profit health system and is uniquely positioned to bank biological samples from a diverse cardiovascular disease population that aims to advance genetic/molecular research into clinical practice.

Our mission is to collect, store and disseminate high-quality biospecimens in a standardized way with a deep commitment to enable impactful change through passionate collaboration, sound integrity and unwavering dedication. Following industry best practices, the PMCC CV Biobank’s purpose is to provide access to a broad range of biospecimens and health data that are accessible to UHN investigators. Through partnerships and collaborations, the PMCC CV Biobank will continue to serve the scientific community at a local, national and international level.

Bioethics and Privacy

The PMCC CV Biobank offers the highest standard of ethics and best practices through the collection, storage and dissemination of research biospecimens. The PMCC CV Biobank operates in accordance with Canadian federal, provincial and institutional requirements pertaining to the participation of patients in research as well as the collection and use of research biospecimens and accompanying clinical data. The PMCC CV Biobank is approved by UHN Research Ethics Board (REB). The PMCC CV Biobank was certified by the Canadian Tissue Repository Network (CTRNet) in 2020, ensuring quality biospecimens and data. CTRNet certification promotes interoperability through a set of required operational practices, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and biobanking data standards.

General Governance

The PMCC CV Biobank has the following requirements for use of biospecimens and participant data.

  1. UHN appointed investigator or UHN collaborative partner if external client
  2. UHN Research Ethics Board (REB) and local site REB/IRB approval
  3. Completed PMCC CV Biobank application
  4. PMCC CV Biobank Access Committee – Review applications for accessing specimens based on the following criteria:
    • Scientific excellence
    • Alignment with strategic goals of the University Health Network
    • Potential to improve patient care
    • Number of study participants and amount of samples requested
    • Overlap with active projects
    • Projects developed by members of divisions and departments from which patients were recruited
    • Funding sources

Our Facility

The PMCC CV Biobank possesses state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and facilities. Our laboratory and storage facility are uniquely located on-site at TGH enabling faster processing of participant samples and quick response time for study requests. Laboratory temperature-controlled centrifuges, Bio-safety cabinets, chemical fume hoods, ultra-low-temperature freezers fitted with freezer alarm system and O2 sensor ensures high quality research and consistent biospecimen integrity. Thousands of participants are seen in our 13 clinics and 6 inpatient units, enabling biospecimen collection from a broad range of disease types and progression.