The Singapore Tissue Network (STN)

News & Announcements

ISBER 2007 features Singapore Tissue Network
The 2007 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) was held from 30 May 2007 to 02 June 2007 in Singapore. This is ISBER's first meeting in the Asia Pacific region and a tour of Singapore Tissue Network was featured. STN’s Chairman Professor Tan Chorh Chuan was invited to make the Welcome Address on 31 May 2007 while STN’s Director Professor Edison Liu made a speech on Genomic Technologies and the Importance of Biobanks: New Models of Interaction. On 1 June 2007, Ms. Theresa Chow, Deputy Director of STN, led a panel discussion on the Implementation of ISO 9001 Standards for Quality at the Singapore Tissue Network. Read More...

STN joins P3G as Charter Member
In January 2007, Singapore Tissue Network was accepted as a Charter Member of the prestigious Public Population Project in Genomics (P3G), a non-for-profit international consortium dedicated to fostering collaboration between researchers and projects in the field of population genomics. Membership to P3G allows STN access to networking and informal scientific exchange with leading researchers and biobanks in the field of population genomics so as to enable the international research community to share expertise and resources and facilitate knowledge transfer for the health of populations. Read More...

Quality Management System of Singapore Tissue Network achieves 1SO 9001 : 2000/SS ISO 9001: 2000 on 27 October 2006
27 October 2006 marks a milestone for Singapore Tissue Network as it achieved the stringent ISO 9000 standards to attain the ISO 9001 : 2000/SS ISO 9001: 2000 certification. The assessment of Singapore Tissue Network’s Quality Management System was conducted by PSB Certification Pte Ltd, Singapore’s national certification body, and the criteria included the conformity for the collection, processing, archiving and distribution of bio-specimens and associated clinical data. The ISO 9000 is a series of international standards on quality management developed by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1987. It was developed to assist companies to design, develop and implement effective quality management systems.

Singapore Tissue Network awards S$1.3 million tender to Ecquaria
Singapore Tissue Network awarded Ecquaria Technology Pte. Ltd. with a S$1.3 million contract on 3 October 2006 for the development and implementation of a Phenotypic Database and Electronic Case Report Form System. The call for the system arose from STN’s recognition that to be in line with its mission to support worldwide academic and commercial collaborations, it needs to communicate the continuing progress of all ongoing collections and associated data in a real-time and automated fashion. Ecquaria was selected as its proposed system aligned with STN’s requirements of demonstrating a high degree of flexibility to capture and store data online directly from collection sites, make the sample collections available more readily to future researchers, as well as being able to integrate with any future IT infrastructure that STN might adopt. This tender represents the first phase in an enterprise-wide strategic plan to modify and enhance STN’s IT infrastructure. Thereafter, STN plans to develop a research portal for accessing and displaying information, in addition to the internal management tools. Read More...

Singapore Tissue Network to work with clinicians for nation-wide Cancer Gene Repository
The Singapore Cancer Syndicate (SCS), a funding entity under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), is working with the Singaporean clinical and research community to expand the competitive cancer research infrastructure and programmes. Since its inception in 2002, three rounds of evaluations had been conducted. In April 2006, for its 4th Grant Call, one of the topics/themes that SCS is looking at is the development of a nation-wide National Cancer Gene Repository (CGR) that would contain annotated genotype data pertaining to a cancer specific tissue type. Clinicians with an interest in collecting and storage of cancer tissues will be requested to work in conjunction with the Singapore Tissue Network (STN) to form a collaborative partnership that will enable a systematic protocol for the collection of tissues. The parameters of collaboration will include, but not limited to, the harmonisation of protocols for collection and preparation of tissue specimens as well as patient consent forms. Read More...

The NCI Symposium: International Harmonization of Biorepository Practices
The NCI Symposium: International Harmonization of Biorepository Practices, held November 10, 2005 in Washington, D.C., convened a group of more than 80 biorepository experts from 15 countries in North America, Europe and Asia to share information about international biorepository efforts. Through a series of plenary and roundtable sessions, the participants addressed a range of scientific, technical, ethical, legal and policy issues affecting biorepositories. Read More...

Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council Endorses Four New Translational Research Initiatives To Bring Basic Science Closer To Clinical Applications
Twelve eminent scientists from US, UK, Europe, Canada and Australia gathered in Singapore on 31 October 2005 for the 10th meeting of the Singapore Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council (BMS IAC). The BMS IAC endorsed the proposals from ASTAR's Biomedical Research Council to establish: the Singapore Stem Cell Consortium (SSCC); the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) the Singapore Consortium of Cohort Studies (SCCS); and the ASTAR Data Privacy Framework (DPF). A*STAR will establish a Data Privacy Framework (DPF) by end 2006 to protect the privacy and confidentiality of patients and subjects as efforts to strengthen translational research step up. The DPF will build upon the existing regulatory and ethical guidelines in Singapore for studies involving humans; including the need to obtain proper informed consent from potential study subjects, as well as approval from the relevant Institutional Review Board (IRB). Under the DPF, stringent processes and an IT-based infrastructure will be put in place to de-identify confidential information and tissue samples collected by the Singapore Tissue Network and the proposed Singapore Consortium of Cohort Studies, allowing research to be conducted in a secure and ethical manner. Read More...

Singapore Tissue Network implements Nautilus LIMS
Singapore Tissue Network announced its appointment of Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd to implement its Nautilus Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) software on 12 May 2004. This appointment was undertaken together with the Genome Institute of Singapore, one of the research institutes of the Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). The LIMS software was selected based on its extensible and flexible functionalities – the tracking inventory, samples and locations, as well as work flow building, equipment automation and results storage – all of which are targeted to enhance STN’s operations of managing genetic resources and utilizing the resources in an organized, concerted and transparent manner.

Singapore Tissue Network has moved to Biopolis
Singapore Tissue Network has begun its operations in Biopolis. The Biopolis is a 180 hectare biomedical city within the Buona Vista Science Hub. The Biopolis houses the Singapore Institute of Molecular Biology, the Bioinformatics Institute, the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, the BioTechnology Center, the Genome Institute of Singapore, the Biomedical Research Council and regional and multinational industrial R&D organizations. The Singapore Tissue Network occupies 500 sq meters of space with storage and laboratory facilities for high throughput processing of tissue and DNA samples.