To the members of the scientific community:
As part of the initiatives put forward to find solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fonds de recherche du Québec and Génome Québec have tasked a group of researchers with establishing the
Québec COVID Biobank.
The primary objective of this Québec-based infrastructure, which will be governed by a strict legal and ethical framework, is to make available to Québec researchers the samples and data they need to support their research on COVID-19. Additionally, the Biobank will serve to catalyze and facilitate the coordination of research on COVID-19 here in Québec, but also in Canada and around the world.
This initiative will help support research efforts focused on discovering and developing new biomarkers of the disease and its progression, as well as medications and vaccines. Moreover, it will promote the development of new technologies required for the analysis of large databases.
The Biobank will stimulate research in health and precision medicine on an unprecedented scale in Québec, in support of health care, innovation and research.
This decentralized infrastructure will enable us to pool the research efforts of all institutions in Québec and facilitate partnerships for research on a national and international scale.
Discussions are underway at the federal level to eventually include this Biobank in a pan-Canadian network.
The collection of data and samples will begin on April 1, 2020.
For information:
- Vincent Mooser, Director of the Biobank’s working group
Canada Research Excellence Chair in Genomic Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University
Vincent.mooser@mcgill.ca - Carole Jabet, Chair of the Biobank’s governance committee
Scientific Director of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé
Carole.jabet@frq.gouv.qc.ca - Serge Marchand, Vice President, Scientific Affairs at Génome Québec
Serge.marchand@genomequebec.com
Rémi Quirion
Chief Scientist of Québec
