This grant was previously run and administered by NSW Health through the Office for Health and Medical Research. It is no longer accepting applications.
The Biospecimen Collection Grants aim to build a research asset of biospecimens for the NSW state to facilitate research on priority health issues affecting the NSW population.
The biospecimens are collected via the statewide NSW Health Pathology network and processed and stored in the NSW Health Statewide Biobank, a $12 million state-of-the-art facility supporting world class medical research. The biospecimens are linked to NSW Health data collections by the Centre for Health Record Linkage (CHeReL), a dedicated data linkage centre within NSW Health. In this way each biospecimen collection is curated with data that builds over time.
The Grants can be used over a four–year period for:
- biospecimen collection, transport to NSW Health Statewide Biobank, receipt, processing and storage
- biospecimen retrieval, dispatch and transport to the researcher
- storage of biospecimen related data.
Successful collections are covered for the following, outside of the grant:
- data linkage to NSW Health data and access to that data CHeReL
- storage of the collection in the NSW Health Statewide Biobank beyond the four year term of this grant, pending continued relevance and utility.
Collection Strategy
The Collection Strategy will provide an overview of collections that will be supported and banked by the NSW Health Statewide Biobank (NSWHSB) in its first four years of operation (2018 to 2022). It establishes NSWHSB collection priorities and requirements to ensure that the NSWHSB supports high value research. It covers the process for banking biospecimens and managing data for different collection categories including collection, processing and storage elements. The Collection Strategy can be accessed online.
For queries regarding biobanking services available at the NSW Health Statewide Biobank contact 02 4920 4140 or NSWPATH-Biobanking@health.nsw.gov.au
For queries regarding data linkage services available from the Centre for Health Record Linkage contact 02 9391 9924 or MOH-cherel@health.nsw.gov.au