Australian blood ‘biobank’ launches

CSIRO has launched a collaborative research cluster in Melbourne focused on establishing a ‘biobank’ of blood samples to be used in advancing research into the prediction and early diagnosis of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.

A collaboration between CSIRO, Monash University, Melbourne University, the Australian National University and the Menzies Research Institute (Tasmania), the ASPREE Healthy Ageing Biobank Cluster will establish a biobank of blood samples collected from over 10,000 healthy elderly Australians.

As cases of disease arise amongst the volunteers, researchers will be able to use blood samples stored in the biobank for case-control studies.

Samples will be compared from subjects with and without a particular disease, allowing researchers to discover and develop diagnostic tests for age-related disease and disability, and to investigate factors that may contribute to healthy ageing.

The biobank will complement the ASPREE clinical trial (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly trial) - a separate clinical study examining whether routine use of low-dose aspirin will delay the emergence of a range of chronic disorders.