UHN Genito-Urinary BioBank (UHN GU BioBank), Canada

Certification Status: Approved
Registration Status: Completed

Objective: The UHN Genito-Urinary (GU) BioBank is an investigator-initiated biobanking program that collects and archives biological specimens and data obtained from consenting urologic oncology patients and stores them for future research purposes. The GU BioBank was founded in 2008 to facilitate the discovery and validation of novel biomarkers, aiming to achieve personalized medicine in Urology. The promise of liquid biopsies has further enhanced the relevance of this initiative. The GU BioBank has mapped relevant clinical states for urologic cancer cohorts and controls, and established a systematic and clinically-integrated approach to biospecimen procurement. All consenting patients provide specimens prior to, during and following their treatment(s). Each sample collection point (Clinical State) is dictated by detailed flow diagrams that have been developed for each cohort.

Registered Biobank Name UHN Genito-Urinary BioBank (UHN GU BioBank)
Biobank Leader sangita.paul@uhn.ca
Country Canada
Email for biobank inquiries heidi.wagner@uhn.ca
Principal Investigator Dr. Neil Fleshner
Website www.gubiobank.com
User Type
  • Mono: A biobank that supports a specific research project, may have few staff members, a small-scale accrual scope with little to no initial intention of releasing or distributing biospecimens to secondary parties
  • Oligo: A biobank that supports several research groups or clinical trials, may or may not be designed to release biospecimens outside their collaborative group
  • Poly: A biobank that has generally a larger accrual scope, resources, and multiple users outside the biobank proper
 Poly - Collection aimed at supporting undetermined, multiple users with ethics approved research projects, through a defined access/application mechanism.
Biospecimen Collected:
Cohort Highlights