The Gillies McIndoe Research Institute Tissue Bank

Despite the huge sums spent on cancer research, cancer remains a leading cause of death and its treatment involves very substantial (and growing) expenditures in every country.
The GMRI Tissue Bank, established in its present form in January 2013, makes the team’s research much more efficient which, in turn, will ultimately lead to more effective future treatments for patients.
The GMRI Tissue Bank currently has over 3,000 tissue and blood samples, including those relating to vascular birthmarks, fibrotic conditions and cancer. The samples have been collected by clinicians after obtaining consent from patients or their families.
The GMRI team has ethical approval to collect tissue and blood samples from patients treated in a number of different surgical specialities in Hutt Hospital, Wellington Regional Hospital and Boulcott Hospital.
The GMRI Tissue Bank is overseen by a Governance Committee.
All tissues have been kindly donated by patients and are stored carefully and securely. The main benefit of an on-site Tissue Bank is that it provides readily available specimens that facilitate new research projects approved by the Human Health and Disability Ethics Committee.
The GMRI Tissue Bank Governance Committee
Dr Iwona Stolarek MBChB, MMEd, PGDipHSM, MRCP(UK), FRACP, FRACMA
Dr Stolarek is the Medical Advisor of the Health Quality & Safety Commission New Zealand.
Dr John Tait MBBS, FRANZCOG, FRCOG
Dr Tait is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Chief Medical Officer at Capital and Coast DHB.
Dr Stuart Johnson MBChB, FRCPA
Dr Johnson is a Consultant Pathologist and Head of the Pathology Department at Hutt Valley DHB.
Mrs Amber O’Callaghan BN, PGDipNurs
Mrs O’Callaghan is the Executive Director for Quality and Risk at the Wairarapa and Hutt Valley DHBs.
Kuini Puketapu is of Te Atiawa and Tuhoe descent. She is the Director Maori Health at Hutt Valley DHB.
Dr Paul Davis BSc(Hons), PhD, FICA
Dr Paul Davis is the Chief Executive and Director of Research at Trinity Bioactives and a Senior Research Fellow at the GMRI.
Dr Helen Brasch BMedSc, MBChB, FRCPA
Dr Brasch is a Consultant Pathologist at Hutt Valley DHB and a Research Fellow at the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute.
Dr Swee Tan (Chair) ONZM, MBBS, PhD, FRACS
Dr Tan is a Consultant Plastic & Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgeon at Hutt Valley DHB and Executive Director of the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute.
GMRI Tissue Bank Management Committee:
Mrs Carolyn Croasdale RN, BN
Mrs Merie Claridge RN, BN
Gillies McIndoe Research Institute Tissue Bank
Email: research.nurse@gmri.org.nz
Phone: Ph +64 4 282 0366 Ext 509