The Wales Cancer Biobank

08/12/2025

The Wales Cancer Biobank (WCB) is pleased to be attending the 2025 UK Biobank Scientific Conference at the QEII Centre in London.

This event is a valuable opportunity to hear about the latest developments in biobanking, population health research, and technological innovation across the UK. We are also excited to learn from colleagues from across the world, engage in discussions, and bring new insights back to Wales

25/11/2025

The Wales Cancer Biobank was delighted to attend the Cardif Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres Network (ECMC) Community Day today, held at the amazing sbarc|spark building at Cardiff University.

The event brought together an inspiring community of researchers, clinicians, and partners dedicated to advancing experimental cancer medicine in Wales and across the UK. We were especially proud to see our own team members, Liz Merrifield and Peter Giles, lead an engaging workshop, exploring how AI can support innovation in healthcare research.

A particular highlight was the opportunity to hear directly from patients, who generously shared their experiences and reminded us why continued progress in cancer research is so important.

Thank you to Cardiff ECMC for hosting such a valuable networking and knowledge-sharing day!

18/11/2025

Really interesting day at the Cardiff University School of Medicine PPIE showcase - it was so inspiring so see that patients and the public are inputting into all different types of research across Wales and making a real difference!

16/10/2025

We’re excited to be at !
The Wales Cancer Biobank team is here today proudly sharing a stand with our colleagues from the Wales Cancer Research Centre. If you’re attending the conference, come and meet the teams and take the opportunity to fill out our survey or if you’re not here you can also do it online: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/cardiff/ai-in-biobanking

14/10/2025

Exciting day at the MediWales Members Showcase! The Wales Cancer Biobank(WCB) team is here connecting with industry partners, NHS colleagues, and business support organisations - sharing how we’re enabling world-class cancer research through high-quality biosamples and data.

We’re proud to present our work and explore new opportunities for collaboration that help drive innovation and improve outcomes for people affected by cancer in and beyond.

21/09/2025

Proud to attend Wednesday’s launch of the Cardiff Cancer Research Partnership (CCRP) at Cardiff University. It was fantastic to see so many colleagues and collaborators come together with a shared ambition to advance cancer research in Wales and beyond. The partnership represents a powerful opportunity to build on existing strengths, and we’re excited to see the contributions that the Wales Cancer Biobank and others will bring to this important journey.

10/09/2025

🎗️ Celebrating blood cancer awareness month with a powerful new collaboration! 🎗️

We’re proud to announce a formal partnership with the Haematology department at Cardiff University, strengthening our shared commitment to advancing research in blood cancers.

Together with haematology at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, we’re building robust infrastructure to support the consenting, collection, and archiving of vital patient samples. This collaboration will enhance research capabilities across haematological cancer clinics.

📚 Training, ethics, and regulatory oversight will be provided by WCB, with joint leadership from the WCB team and Dr Jo Zabkiewicz, AML Lead and member of our WCB Executive Committee - with samples being stored locally under WCB ethics.

This is a major step forward in our mission to support life-saving research. 💉🧠

04/08/2025

🧬 Help shape the future of cancer research in Wales.

Have you experienced cancer? Your voice matters.

The Wales Cancer Biobank (WCB) is looking for people affected by cancer to join its Lay Liaison and Ethics Group (LLEG) — a group of patients, lay members, and staff who play a key role in shaping how the biobank operates and evolves.
By sharing your lived experience, you can help ensure cancer biobanking in Wales reflects the needs and values of patients.

💡 Learn more about getting involved and making a difference:
Deadline for expressions of interest: 1 September 2025

Breadcrumb Home Help represent the patient voice for cancer biobanking in Wales? Help represent the patient voice for cancer biobanking in Wales? Use your experiences of living with cancer to help shape and develop the biobank. The Wales Cancer Biobank (WBC) has a Lay Liaison and Ethics Group (LLE.....

04/08/2025

🌞 Wales Cancer Biobank – Summer newsletter is out now! Discover the latest updates from WCB including:

⭐ Team news
⭐ Research updates
⭐ How to use your experiences of living with cancer to help shape and develop the biobank

Take a few minutes to catch up on our summer highlights!
📖 Read the full newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/344a944b436a/wales-cancer-biobank-summer-newsletter-17991523

31/07/2025

🔬 A major milestone in medical imaging: the UK Biobank’s imaging study has now scanned its 100,000th participant!

This dataset is transforming how we understand early disease markers, especially in cancer. At The Wales Cancer Biobank (WCB), we’re proud to contribute to a similar mission - providing researchers with ethically consented, high-quality cancer tissue samples to accelerate discovery.

This massive imaging effort complements the kind of research supported by WCB. This kind of large-scale research is key to tackling diseases like cancer earlier. Read the full article:

UK Biobank scientists say the human body can be studied in greater detail than ever thanks to people like Steve.

30/07/2025

On 25 July, The Wales Cancer Biobank staff took part in a beach clean at Barry Beach!

With litter pickers in hand and the train as our travel choice, we saved 14.9 kg of CO₂ - enough to power a home for a day - and helped clean up our beautiful coastline. A big thank you to everyone who came along and made a difference. It was a fantastic day for the environment and for team spirit! 🌍💚

20/06/2025

Resplendent in red! 🔴 Some of our inspiring Wales Cancer Biobank team celebrating Day.

The biobank has supported 70+ projects in the past 5 years - two-thirds in Wales - driving exciting breakthroughs in cancer research.