HHS biobank lab achieves top certification for blood protein research services
A Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) research lab has earned an international designation as an Olink certified service provider for its expertise in proteomics.
“This certification recognizes the CRLB-GMEL as an international leader in proteomics.”
“Prote” stands for protein while “omics” is large-scale, data-rich biology that includes a comprehensive, complete snapshot of a blood sample.
With traditional bloodwork, a handful of tests may be ordered to look for diseases or help determine the state of a person’s health. “But with proteomics, the technology has advanced to the point where up to 5,000 blood biomarkers can be identified from a single blood sample,” says Dr. Guillaume Paré, a medical biochemist and director of the HHS Clinical Research Laboratory and Biobank – Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory (CRLB-GMEL).
“This certification recognizes the CRLB-GMEL as an international leader in proteomics,” says Paré. “By including our lab in its list, Olink is confirming that the work we do meets the highest international quality standards.”
A Canadian leader
“The lab’s team has worked tirelessly over the years to develop our expertise in proteomics,” says Paré, adding that they are one of just four Canadian labs included on the Swedish-based Olink Holding company’s inaugural list of close to 30 international labs that qualify as Olink certified service providers. “Achieving this designation has been a huge team effort, including many years of dedication to developing this expertise so that we were able to qualify as an Olink certified service provider.”
The CRLB-GMEL team includes Reina Ditta, academic and research development manager; Dr. Michael Chong, deputy director; Dr. Guillaume Paré, director and senior scientist; Dr. Matthew McQueen, former director; and Tara Bryce, operations manager.
Olink is a global leader in proteomics, and researchers from around the world rely on its highly specialized lab work for their studies. Of the four Canadian labs to be named Olink certified service providers, only two offer the full spectrum of Olink services – the Hamilton lab, and a lab at Montreal’s McGill University.
“This certification helps place HHS at the forefront of innovation.”
“Every member of the Olink certified service provider network has demonstrated exceptional proficiency in utilizing our platforms and are ready to support the global research community,” says Mike Irwin, Olink’s vice president of global sales, support, and marketing. “This network gives every scientist, regardless of their infrastructure, access to the most powerful proteomics technologies for biomarker research.”
Due to CRLB-GMEL’s long-time expertise proteomics, the lab already had an established and longstanding relationship with Olink. So when Olink decided to formally certify its service providers, they reached out to CRLB-GMEL to apply. To become an Olink certified service provider, each organization was required to demonstrate their ability to consistently perform Olink workflows with the highest quality.
For Canadian researchers, the HHS lab’s designation means they are guaranteed high-quality proteomics blood analysis services in their own country, so they don’t need to send samples to Sweden. For HHS researchers, Olink-quality services are available right here at home, by their colleagues.
Advancing research
Located in the David Braley Cardiovascular and Stroke Research Institute at the HHS Hamilton General Hospital campus, the CRLB-GMEL provides a broad range of cutting-edge genomics and proteomics services, and specializes in large-scale population genetic studies. Services are available to HHS and McMaster researchers, as well as researchers nationally and internationally.
“Each biomarker tells us a story about how well someone is doing, or potential diseases this person could be afflicted with,” says Paré, who is also deputy director of the Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute (TaARI) of McMaster University and HHS, and a senior scientist with the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), a joint institute of HHS and McMaster.
Paré says that eventually, this technology could expand from the research world to patient care. And as an Olink certified service provider, HHS will be well-positioned to be a leader in using this technology to directly benefit patients.
“This certification helps place HHS at the forefront of innovation,” says Paré.
