Now that the BC Generations Project has reached the end of its active recruitment phase, we’re turning our attention to sample collection.
About 13,000 study members are still on our list to provide a blood and urine sample. Beginning in April, these participants can expect to receive a lab requisition form from us by email or mail.
Members can visit any LifeLabs Patient Service Centre throughout British Columbia, either on a drop-in basis or by appointment. Lab locations and hours are provided on the requisition form. Please note our collection days: Monday – Wednesday at Vancouver Island locations and Monday – Thursday for all mainland locations.
To learn more about what happens to the blood samples we collect, watch our video “From Needle Poke to Freezer Farm”.
Simon Fraser University has recognized Dr. John Spinelli, principal investigator of the BC Generations Project, for his significant career achievements in cancer control and prevention.
Dr. Spinelli is one of four SFU alumni to receive an Outstanding Alumni Award for 2012. He completed his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and PhD (Math & Statistics) at SFU. Here’s what SFU wrote about him:
Dr. John Spinelli is internationally recognized as one of Canada’s leading cancer epidemiologists and biostatisticians. He has spent much of his life working towards reducing the burden of cancer in Canada. His passion for population health led him to direct his efforts to identifying modifiable risk factors for cancer with the ultimate goal of prevention. He has made seminal contributions to our understanding of the etiology of cancer, including key findings on occupational and environmental causes. Dr. Spinelli was one of the first researchers to identify an increased risk of cancer in aluminum workers, and was a leader in demonstrating a link between PCB exposure and lymphoma. His work has been used worldwide by industry and workers’ organizations to reduce exposures and determine compensation for those exposed in the past. He actively shares his knowledge by teaching and mentoring junior scientists and graduate students at UBC and SFU. Currently, Dr. Spinelli is the Head of Cancer Control Research at the BC Cancer Agency, and his work investigates the effects of the interactions between genes and environmental exposures on the risk of cancer. He is also the principal investigator of the BC Generations Project, part of a national prospective cohort study which will enable researchers to examine risks of cancer and other chronic diseases that would not be identifiable in any other way. The cohort will be an invaluable resource for researchers like Dr. Spinelli who envision a cancer-free future for Canadians.
Since it began recruitment in 2009, the BC Generations Project has attracted close to 29,000 British Columbians to the largest cancer prevention study ever conducted in the province.
The massive long-term health study has the potential to help researchers determine how genetics, environment, and lifestyle contribute to our risk of developing cancer, as well as related chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Any British Columbian resident aged 35-69 is eligible to join. Participants must complete three secure web forms: an informed consent form, a personal information form, and a health and lifestyle questionnaire. To sign up now, visit http://www.bcgenerationsproject.ca/sign-up/
10. We value your time and goodwill. It is charitable people like you who will make this study a success.
9. It is easy and convenient. Just answer some questions online. We’ll contact you at a later date to donate blood and urine. No appointment needed. No pressure.
8. Your blood and urine samples will be used in many research studies exploring the causes of cancer and other chronic diseases.
7. You will feel really good about yourself after.
6. This project is part of the largest study EVER to have been initiated in Canada. Alberta, Ontario, Quebec & Atlantic Canada are all part of it too. Support BC by participating!
5. You are unique and important. Your life might help show the link between genetic & environmental factors and the development of diseases plaguing our generation.
4. You will play a part in helping prevent cancer and chronic disease in the future. Give some of your time today, save thousands of lives tomorrow.
3. You will be helping your own children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, great-great-great-grandchildren…You know what we mean. The BC Generations Project is a very valuable investment for the future.
2. Pay it forward. You won’t likely benefit from this project but thousands of others could. Who doesn’t want to be called a humanitarian?
1. It is the right thing to do!
We had 902 participants visit our pop-up assessment centre while we were in town, bringing our grand total to 27,604 BC participants! But don’t despair if you missed us. You can sign up completely online by clicking the Join Now link.
