Governance
National Consortium (Steering) Committee:
- Coordinating Principal Investigator and Director: Lyn March (NSW)
- Sponsor: University Sydney Representative
- Consumer Advocacy: Arthritis Australia Representative
- Peak Body: Australian Rheumatology Association (ARA) Representative
- State Node Primary Custodians:
- Lyn March (University of Sydney and NSW Statewide Biobank, NSW)
- Jane Munro (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, VIC)
- Catherine Hill (Queen Elizabeth Hospital, SA)
- Mihir Wechalekar (Flinders Medical Centre, SA)
- Helen Keen (Fiona Stanley Hospital, WA)
- Ranjeny Thomas (University of Queensland, QLD)
- Tony Kenna (Queensland University of Technology, QLD)
- Chandima Perera (Canberra Hospital, ACT)
* Includes a Chairperson agreed by all
National Operations Management
- National Project Officer: Tom Lynch
- National Juvenile Arthritis Project Officer: Fiona Howard
- National Database Manager: Vibhasha Chand
- Executive Administrator: Marita Cross
- Clinical Trial Coordinator: Jie Yi
- Lead Laboratory Scientist: Meilang Xue
National Access Committee
- Sponsor Representative
- A3BC Node Custodian Representatives (excl. any COI)
- Australian Rheumatology Association (ARA) Representative
- Consumer Advocacy Group Representative
- A3BC-ARAD patient research partner(s)
- National Biobank Director
* Includes a Chairperson agreed by all
International Scientific and Strategic Advisory
National
- Clinical – Adult
- Clinical – Paediatric
- Biobanking and Multi-omics
- Registries and Epidemiology
- Analytics – Traditional and AI
- Genetic Counselling
- Health Policy
International
- Rheumatology Precision Medicine
- Adult Rheumatologist and Precision Medicine Research
- Paediatric Rheumatologist and Precision Medicine Research
- International Large-scale Biobanking
- Health Data Informatics and Research
* Includes a Chairperson agreed by all
Ethical Legal and Social Implications Committee
- Independent biobank ethics
- Independent bio-legal
- Independent social scientist
- Semi-independent consumer advocacy
- A3BC National Director (coordinator only)
* Includes a Chairperson agreed by all
Key governance information:
- The overarching A3BC governance philosophy is one of collaboration and cooperation to emphasize capacity building and career development for the future
- The A3BC is owned and operated as an unincorporated joint venture between a consortium of leading researcher, biobank and data custodians. The A3BC Consortium Committee, guided by their Terms of Reference provides assistance, oversight and guidance on matters including:
- annual plans and priorities
- determining national policies
- monitoring risks and timelines
- preliminary access applications
- harmonising / improving practice
- beneficial relationship building
- cooperation between nodes
- training opportunities
- intellectual property
- raising awareness
- funding options
- budgeting
- Decision-making by the Consortium Committee is guided by related independent and expert advice from the ELSI and ISSA groups.
- The national Access Committee provides central review and approval for research applications to access the A3BC.
- Where a collection is NSW Health grant funded, the NSW Health Statewide Biobank Access Committee is used in conjunction with the A3BC Access Committee.
- The core operational structure of the A3BC consists of dedicated local and National components to ensure local harmonisation and collaborative national management.
- Biobank node custodianship is typically shared by a local Primary (a local clinician Principal Investigator) and Deputy (a local Biobank/Lab Manager) custodian per node to prevent COI and ensure strong clinical, research and operational knowledge in decision-making. The Primary custodian has final decision making powers.
- A3BC funding is managed by the University of Sydney, who are ACNC registered (capable to take donations) and an authorised entity to manage Commonwealth grant funds.