At the

INTERNATIONAL SPINAL CORD INJURY BIOBANK

we collect and store specimens and associated data from individuals who have endured a spinal cord injury.

We share these with the global research community to advance our understanding of the biology and pathophysiology of human spinal cord injury.

About us

We - like many others - have recognized that the scientific community working to understand the biology of spinal cord injury (SCI) generally lacks the opportunity to conduct research on human spinal cord injury biospecimens. We therefore established the International Spinal Cord Injury Biobank (ISCIB) for the collection and storage of human biospecimens & data, with the goal of sharing these valuable resources with the global SCI research community.

Who we are

We are a group of clinicians, researchers and scientists dedicated to discovering therapeutic cures for SCI. We catalyze scientific discoveries by providing human SCI specimens to researchers internationally. ISCIB is a member of ISBER and is certified through the CTRNet Biobank Certification Program. We are located in the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, as part of the Kwon Lab for Spinal Cord Injury Research within the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD).

A Brief History

With the support of the Rick Hansen Foundation and Praxis Spinal Cord Institute, Dr. Brian Kwon, University of British Columbia Professor of Orthopaedics, Spine Surgeon, and ICORD Director, established ISCIB in 2019. His goal was to convert his local SCI biobank (est. 2014) into an international SCI biobank with the capacity to share valuable human SCI materials with other scientists and accelerate therapeutic progress in the field. Today, ISCIB holds thousands of samples from SCI patients, all of which are available to SCI researchers internationally.

Mission

Our mission is to advance the understanding of the biology of SCI through the study of human specimens. All ISCIB materials are made available to researchers globally, provided that the proposed research has undergone ethical review and is aimed to improve the overall understanding of SCI and the spine.

Vision

The vision of ISCIB is that it will serve as a resource to the global SCI research community.  We hope that ISCIB would be accessed by investigators from around the world to address questions about the biology of human SCI that previously may have only been investigated in animal models.

Objective

The objective of ISCIB is to support research into the biological responses of human SCI. To do this, ISCIB will share biospecimens with requesting investigators who have established research protocols for biospecimen evaluation.

OUR EVER-GROWING INVENTORY

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75,602

Fluid Aliquots Available

20

Spinal Cords

340

Participants Enrolled

15

Enrolment Sites

31

Projects Supported

Affiliations & Supporters

International Collaboration for Research Discoveries
Praxis Spinal Cord Institute
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute
Vancouver Spine Surgery Institute
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NEWS AND EVENTS

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