An Interview with Heidi Wagner
An interview with Heidi Wagner, PA, BSc, Head of Operations of Biospecimen Services at UHN.
What is your professional background, and how has it prepared you for your current role?
Having worked in the field for over fifteen years, I have extensive experience in biobanking, surgical pathology and laboratory medicine. My previous role leading the biorepository at MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States certainly helped prepare me for my current role at UHN Biospecimen Services.
I'm grateful to be able to bring my expertise to this facility and work to ensure we meet the most stringent clinical and research requirements. Together with my team, we have developed the leading-edge infrastructure required to efficiently distribute high-quality biospecimens and meet expanding demand—something that requires us to always be one step ahead.
What are your roles & responsibilities at UHN Biospecimen Services?
I manage a team of over 75 staff members. My responsibilities include overseeing all biobanking activities, such as bioregulatory policies, best practices and outcomes, biobanking in relation to translational research, standardized sample management, risk assessment, quality assurance, quality control, waste management, and biobanking protocol design. I also oversee accreditation by regulatory agencies and the hiring of clinical and research professionals.
How does the equipment or services at UHN Biospecimen Services help the research community advance their research?
UHN Biospecimen Services supports researcher by providing a centralized location for accessing, storing and utilizing high-quality and well-annotated biospecimens and clinical data. All of our samples are collected prospectively under general biobanking protocols or in support of clinical research studies. We also provide cutting-edge digital pathology services that are unique to the institution and accessible to all UHN investigators.
How does your role at UHN Biospecimen Services facilitate collaboration with other cores and principal investigators?
I work closely with Principal Investigators from across UHN to ensure that our services remain their primary source of high-quality and well-annotated biospecimens and associated data. UHN Biospecimen Services has supported over 100 clinical trials through our collaboration framework, ranging from single-site investigator-initiated pilot studies to large-scale, international studies.
What are the key objectives that UHN Biospecimen Services is working towards?
UHN Biospecimen Services aims to become a world leader in biobanking activities by continuously improving, optimizing and streamlining operations. The facility ensures efficient, standardized biospecimen procurement, banking, and distribution to anticipate and meet local and global research needs.
For example, we are currently building an e-library of banked biospecimen images and providing our clients access to these images to help advance their projects. The team is also exploring new ways to enhance patient engagement by including them in the biospecimen distribution process through leveraging block chain technology—an approach that enables individuals to determine how and where their biospecimens are utilized.
To learn more about our services, please visit: https://uhnbiospecimenservices.com