To swiftly transfer breast cancer research findings to a clinical setting, it is essential that translational research is undertaken. Testing new drug targets and potential clinical biomarkers in retrospective clinical trials is the cornerstone of translational research.

In 2010, Breast Cancer Ireland co-founded the National Breast Cancer Bio Resource, which was launched by the then Minister for Health, Mary Harney. This national bio resource was established to standardise the collection of breast cancer material from within the designated cancer centres in Ireland. Specialist breast cancer research nurses were recruited to collect and collate patient samples and data. This combined centralised resource now offers much larger volumes of samples to clinicians and scientists (nationally and internationally), thereby helping to identify new biomarkers and therapeutic targets to more effectively treat breast cancer.