Accreditation will strengthen the group’s ability to bridge the gap between research and improved healthcare
The OICR Genomics Program (OICR Genomics) has successfully gained accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP), one of the most well-respected laboratory standards programs in the world. This accreditation will bring benefits not only to the research group but to the cancer researchers, clinicians, and the patients they serve.
Many of today’s large, cutting-edge cancer clinical trials require that participating laboratories hold some form of accreditation, which establishes that they meet the standards to conduct clinical-grade testing. By achieving CAP accreditation OICR Genomics will have increased opportunities for collaboration with partners both in industry and academia who require this accreditation, which confirms the Program’s strong commitment to quality. There is already great interest from collaborators in the group’s clinical whole genome and whole transcriptome sequencing package.
“Achieving this accreditation is a massive leap forward for our group. It will open new avenues to use our capabilities and increase and improve the services we offer to cancer researchers and clinicians,” says Dr. Trevor Pugh, Senior Investigator and Director of the Joint Genomics Program at OICR and the University Health Network. “CAP accreditation would not have been possible without the amazing efforts of our entire team. I thank them and all who have helped us along the way and look forward to continuing to build our program together.”
The requirements for CAP accreditation are rigorous and include effective documentation and training protocols, a strong track record of good lab practices, continuous sharing and monitoring of technical results, appropriate validation and uncertainty correction methods, an extensive array of standard operating procedures, and more. The U.S. federal government recognizes the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program, begun in the early 1960s, as being equal-to or more-stringent-than the government’s own inspection program.
“I congratulate the entire OICR Genomics team on this incredible achievement which will allow us to pursue new avenues in our research and further expand the cancer genomics resources available in Ontario,” says Dr. Laszlo Radvanyi, President and Scientific Director, OICR. “This accreditation will strengthen our bridge between research and our drive to put innovations into testing and implementation into the health system for our cancer patients.”
“The OICR Genomics program demonstrates leadership, innovation, and a passionate commitment to standards of excellence while providing the highest quality services, ultimately for patients,” says Dr. Richard M. Scanlan, Chair of the CAP’s Council on Accreditation. “The CAP congratulates OICR on its recent CAP Accreditation.”
OICR Genomics is also continuing to pursue accreditation by the Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare, an Ontario-based organization. OICR Genomics is also ISO 15189 compliant.
Interested in collaborating? Contact:
Dr. Carolyn Ptak
Program Manager and QA Lead, OICR Genomics
Carolyn.Ptak@oicr.on.ca
