Dear valued colleagues and friends of BBMRI,
2021 has been a year full of accelerated developments and achievements and we’d like to wholeheartedly thank all of you for your continued collaboration and engagement to make this happen. Unfortunately, the devastating COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our daily lives. Even more important is our mission to facilitate access to samples, data, and biomolecular resources that will ultimately help to improve patients’ care to the fullest. Thus, it is with the greatest enthusiasm that we look forward to continuing working together closely with you in the New Year!
On behalf of the entire BBMRI-ERIC Headquarters Team, we wish you and your loved ones a peaceful and relaxing holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2022.
Yours,
Prof. Jens K. Habermann
Director General BBMRI-ERIC
Assembly of Members elects new Steering Committee
At its semiannual meeting on November 19th, 2021, the BBMRI-ERIC's Assembly of Members elected a new Steering Committee comprising of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Assembly as well as the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee. Outgoing Assembly of Members Chair Hemma Bauer (AT) and Vice-Chair Olli Carpen (FI) will be replaced by Philippe Desmeth (BE) and Priit Tamm (EE), respectively. In the Finance Committee, previous Chair Luisa Minghetti (IT) will serve as Vice-Chair, and previous Vice-Chair Mark Debono (MT) will now serve as Chair.
BBMRI-ERIC wholeheartedly thanks Hemma Bauer and Olli Carpen for their outstanding dedication, extraordinary engagement, and thorough guidance. BBMRI-ERIC also warmly welcomes Philippe Desmeth and Priit Tamm in their new roles in the Steering Committee and is very much looking forward to their guidance while highly appreciating the continuation of Luisa Minghetti and Mark Debono in the Finance Committee.
Read more...
Europe Biobank Week 2022: Save the date!
Aiming for Europe Biobank Week (EBW) to take place as face-to-face congress in 2022, we thank everyone participating in our survey to determine the most suitable date to allow as many participants as possible to join!
The majority vote decided for 27-30 September 2022.
Save the date for the most important biobanking event of the year. Information on location, theme, registration and sponsorship opportunities will follow soon.
EBW is the jointly organized annual congress of BBMRI-ERIC and ESBB (European, Middle Eastern and African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking; (www.esbb.org).
More information soon on our website.
ELSI Services and Research
EMA event on Research in regulatory science
The EMA has identified around one hundred topics on gaps existing in regulatory science that need to be addressed to improve medicine development and evaluation to enable access to innovative medicines that address patients’ needs. The findings will be published on 15 December 2021 as the ‘Regulatory science research needs’ list. The EMA cordially invites to participate in their virtual event on ‘Research in regulatory science - addressing the needs’ on Tuesday, 18 January 2022 from 10:00 to 12:00 CET. The event will be broadcast and recorded. The recording will be published on the EMA website after the event. This event aims to launch the 'Regulatory science research needs' initiative of the European Medicines Agency. Researchers and stakeholders are invited to raise questions and to comment during the event.
Registration is now open here!
Webinar: “Gendered Innovations”: The Importance of Sex and Gender in Biomedical Research
On November 30th, BBMRI-ERIC organized an exciting 2-hour webinar in gender in biomedical research, featuring two outstanding speakers: Londa Schiebinger and Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, from the project Gendered Innovations in Science, Health & Medicine, Engineering, and Environment. Londa Schiebinger is John L. Hinds Professor of History of Science at Stanford University and Sabine Oertelt-Prigione is Chair of gender in primary and transmural care at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and Professor of sex- and gender-sensitive medicine at the University of Bielefeld, Germany.
The title of Londa Schiebinger’s thought-provoking talk was “Gendered Innovations in Biomedicine”. She presented to the audience the possibilities that harnessing the creative power of sex, gender, and intersectional analysis bring for discovery and innovation. Sabine Oertelt-Prigione talked about “Practical considerations for the operationalization of sex- and gender-sensitive research in biomedicine”, showcasing the consequences of not taking into consideration sex and gender in biomedical research, and recommending further steps and best practices for implementation.
The speakers explained with thorough literature the complexity of analyzing sex and gender beyond binary ideas, highlighting the importance of understanding how sex and gender interact, and of adopting an intersectional approach that also considers other factors such as race or age.
Watch the recording below.
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"Gendered Innovations": The Importance of Sex and Gender in Biomedical Research
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Biobanking and risk assessment: a comprehensive typology of risks for an adaptive risk governance
Review article “Biobanking and risk assessment: a comprehensive typology of risks for an adaptive risk governance” by Kaya Akyüz, Gauthier Chassang, Melanie Goisauf, Łukasz Kozera, Signe Mezinska, Olga Tzortzatou & Michaela Th. Mayrhofer has been published in the journal Life Sciences, Society and Policy. The paper takes a comprehensive look into the risks from an interdisciplinary perspective, bringing together different areas of expertise, and forms a basis for an adaptive risk governance in biobanking.
The article has been produced as part of CY-Biobank, a project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 857122.
To read the open-access full text, please visit the journal website!
Pediatric Initiative - Thank you for making it possible!
Our rising inclusive network to tackle together pediatric biobanking and its ELSI challenges
From 1 September to 15 October, BBMRI-ERIC and its Stakeholder Forum Patient Pillar called on pediatric & RD communities inclusive of all the actors involved in translational research and biobanking to engage in a network tackling pediatric biobanking and its ethical, legal, and societal challenges.
Our proposal comprised two parts:
- A first part was collecting participants’ details to be involved and contribute to this network for exchange.
- A second optional part, about practices and expectations on pediatric biobanking and participant engagement to understand priorities for this network and organize future activities: e.g., exchange platform, training workshops, webinars, etc.
Seventy-six respondents representing 22 countries joined. Plenty of biobankers and researchers, alongside some key representatives from Patient Umbrella Organizations, companies, and International Organizations. Nearly half of the participants shared best practices already in place, highlighted priorities and suggestions.
This is our starting point; keep in touch for the next steps. If you want to stay updated write directly to: sara.casati@bbmri-eric.eu
Figure: Role of respondents
Human Resources
BBMRI-ERIC Headquarters welcomes three new team members!
In November three new colleagues joined our headquarters in Graz. Please welcome Eva Garcia Alvarez and Kurt Majcen, both IT Scientist & Project Manager, as well as Naya Castillo-Rutz, Project Manager.
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News from our National Nodes
BBMRI.at: How could drugs against corona help?
BBMRI.at partner Med Uni Graz with research performed at its BSL-3 laboratory on Servus TV report in PM Wissen (2 Dec 2021 - in German)
Read and watch more...
BBMRI.at: Book chapter on “Data Item Quality for Biobanks”
Publication by BBMRI.at partner Alpen Adria University (Dec. "021). The authors provide a concept for quality in biobank data.
Read more..
BBMRI.at: BBMRI.at Cohort Profile: “Colorectal Cancer Cohort Whole Slide Image Cohort”
A comprehensive and outstanding collection at BBMRI.at partner Med Uni Graz (Nov 2021)
Read more...
BBMRI.at: Study at BBMRI.at partner Med Uni Graz & Biobank Graz on COVID-19
Recovered subjects shows eight month antibodies in blood. This study is an example of a successful contribution of a biobank to research (1 Dec 2021)
Read more...
BBMRI.cz/Czech Biobank Node: First group meeting of the Czech Biobank Node & associated partners
At the beginning of November 2021, all core members and associated members of the Czech National Node met for the first time in person to report current progress of their respective biobanks and discuss hot topics in biobanking within the Czech Republic. Petr Holub (IT/Data Protection Manager BBMRI-ERIC) and Zdenka Dudová (IT Specialist BBMRI.cz) introduced new trends in data repositories and protection at national and European levels. Current problems with implementation of the new ISO norm 20387:2021 in Czech Republic were mentioned by Martina Bednářová and Marek Vyskočil from the Czech Institute for Accreditation. Roman Hrstka, Director of BBMRI.cz, pointed out international evaluation of BBMRI.cz, discussed KPIs for 2022 along with strengths as well as weaknesses of the Node. This meeting was the first of the annual meetings for the Czech Node.
BBMRI.de/German Biobank Node (GBN): Feedback from the Scientific and Ethical Advisory Board
"This infrastructure is exemplary," said Dominic Allen, member of the SEAB of the GBN and the German Biobank Alliance (GBA), during this year's meeting. The advisory board members particularly praised the expansion of the GBA, which added another partner biobank and 14 observers this year, bringing its current total to 35 sites in Germany. Allen: "We appreciate the open attitude of GBN and GBA and are very much in favour of the representatives sharing their experiences – also at the European level. This is reflected in the close cooperation with BBMRI-ERIC."
Read more...
BBMRI.de/German Biobank Node (GBN): Europe Biobank Week 2021 revisited
At the 2021 Europe Biobank Week, Dr. Johanna Schiller, GBN project manager, was awarded a prize for her poster "German Biobank Alliance (GBA): E-learning modules for technical personnel to enhance biospecimen quality". Christiane Hartfeldt and Dr. Sabrina Schmitt, both members of GBN's quality management team, presented the quality programme GBN uses to prepare GBA biobanks for accreditations according to ISO 20387. Dr. Cecilia Engels, GBN coordinator for IT, described the development of the IT infrastructure for biobanks in Germany.
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BBMRI.de/German Biobank Node (GBN): GBN team trains Turkish auditors
The GBN QM team trained employees of the Turkish accreditation body TURKAK in the implementation of the ISO 20387 standard for biobanking at the beginning of November 2021. In the future, TURKAK staff will audit Turkish biobanks and decide on their accreditation according to ISO 20387. Members of the GBN QM team were involved in the development of the standard published in 2018.
Read more...
BBMRI.de/German Biobank Node (GBN): Christoph Brochhausen named „Professor of the Year“
To provide students with practical competences and sought-after key qualifications, and furthermore to pave the way for a smooth career start: These are the competences sought in the German UNICUM Foundation's "Professor of the Year" competition. Prof. Dr. Christoph Brochhausen-Delius, Professor of Pathology and Head of the Regensburg partner biobank of the German Biobank Alliance (GBA), took first place in the Medicine and Natural Sciences category.
Read more...
Prof. Dr. Christoph Brochhausen-Delius
BBMRI.no: Publication - Return of individual research results from genomic research: A systematic review of stakeholder perspectives
In this paper, Danya Vears et al. have conducted a systematic review of the empirical literature to explore stakeholders’ perspectives (including biobank participants) on return of individual research results from genomic research. The paper provides evidence of high interest in return of individual research results from potential and actual genomic research participants, and support from researchers and health professionals to return such results.
Isabelle Budin-Ljøsne, from Biobank Norway, is one of the co-authors on the paper.
Read more...
BBMRI.se: Biobank Sweden's Steering Committee meet the SAB
The Swedish Research Council-funded research infrastructure Biobank Sweden supports healthcare providers and universities with medical faculties working towards national harmonisation in biobanking.
Biobank Sweden’s Steering Committee invited the Scientific Advisory Board to discuss Sweden’s biobank research infrastructure at their national meeting on November 23. On the agenda were topics such as long-term sustainability, Sweden’s role in the European context, future infrastructure focus, and current and future goals and KPIs. The discussions were fruitful, and the Steering Committee look forward to more interactions with the SAB in the upcoming year. Biobank Sweden’s Scientific Advisory Board is made up of chairperson Kristian Hveem (Norway), Michaela Th. Mayrhofer (BBMRI-ERIC), Fay Betsou (Luxemburg), and Phil Quinlan (UK).
Project News and Partners
Our partner ERINHA is launching a new TNA Call!
In the framework of the EU funded H2020 project ERINHA-Advance, free of charge TransNational Access (TNA) to ERINHA services is offered to users for advancing their research on SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19. ERINHA is renewing once more its commitment to supporting scientific users by launching an impact driven 3rd call for proposals still dedicated to SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19, with a special emphasis on variants of concern. Find out about the new TNA Call on their website.
Application deadline: Monday 20th December.
IC2PerMed: “Get to know the European and Chinese landscape in Personalized Medicine (PM) – biobanking with special focus on the common intersections data/ELSI/quality” - that is the credo for the 4 virtual round tables (VRTs), organized by BBMRI-ERIC as part of the project IC2PerMed!
The first two VRTs about biobanking and health data have already taken place. Almost 80 participants made these first two round tables particularly valuable while creating exciting and stimulating exchanges.
What should you expect for VRT#3 and VRT#4?
Renowned European and Chinese experts will present the European and Chinese perspective/challenges and future trends of important ELSI and quality themes for personalised medicine (PM). The experts' presentations will be linked to the activities of the IC2PerMed working groups of Work Package 2 (knowledge synthesis on the identification, transferability and extension of international standards in PM). All of this will be rounded up with an interactive question and answer session.
VRT#3: ELSI - Four letters - do they matter? Register
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 | 9:00 - 10:30 CET
VRT#4: Quality - What’s missing when things don’t work as they should? Register
Wednesday, February 16, 2022 | 9:00 - 10:30 CET
Contact and information: Ulrike Rohrer - ulrike.rohrer@bbmri-eric.eu
Request for tenders: INSTAND-NGS4P, a pre-commercial procurement project on NGS in healthcare coordinated by BBMRI.at partner Med Uni Graz (BBMRI.at Director Kurt Zatloukal) has launched the Request for Tenders for the development of an integrated and standardized NGS workflow for integrating information from cancer gene testing, pharmocogenomics testing and e-medication in proper presentation to medical doctors for supporting therapy decision making.
Deadline for Receipt of Tenders: 19 December 2021
For more information, visit https://www.instandngs4p.eu/
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Events
Online / 18-19 January 2022
Info Days for EU Missions
The European Commission has announced dedicated Info-Days for the EU Missions to be held virtually between 18 and 19 January 2022.
EU Missions are an additional part of the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme for 2021-2027 aiming to address some of the greatest challenges facing our society.
Online / 1 February 2022, 13-17:00 CET
Virtual Organizational Tour and Workshop for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Researchers at BBMRI-ERIC
The University of Graz and BBMRI-ERIC are teaming up to offer a virtual organizational visit and a workshop for doctoral and postdoctoral students in biomedical research careers at our headquarters in Graz. This activity is organized within the Arqus Alliance actions for PhD employment support. The call is open for early-stage researchers of all Arqus universities. The virtual visit could be relevant for researchers from the fields of bioethics, ethics, law, social sciences, IT, biobanking, pathology, genomics, bioinformatics and quality management and policy, among others. Register by 15 Jan 2022!
Online / 8-10 February 2022
UK Biobank Showcase
Organised by the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre, the UK Biobanking Showcase is the UK's leading event for those who work in biobanking and human tissue research. Save the date for this year's Showcase - full details to follow soon! Our Director General Jens Habermann will have the pleasure to represent BBMRI-ERIC.
Gothenburg, Sweden / 8-10 March 2022
The Nordic Biobank Conference
The Nordic Biobank Conference in Gothenburg is jointly organized by Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. Early bird extended until 31 December 2021
Maastricht, The Netherlands / 29 June - 2 July 2022
AI 4 IMAGING: Radiomics, Deep Learning and Synthetic Data – A Hands-on Course
This course on Artificial Intelligence for Imaging is a unique opportunity to join a community of leading-edge practitioners in the field of Quantitative Medical Imaging. Whether you are a researcher in the field or are interested about fostering this type of research in your clinic, during this 4-days immersive course you will be able to attend lectures and workshops from world-class experts in Radiomics, Deep Learning and Synthetic Data.
Lisbon, Portugal / 9-14 July 2022
FEBS Congress 2022
The 46th FEBS Congress is a joint event with IUBMB and PABMB, hosted by the Portuguese Biochemical Society in Lisbon, 9–14 July 2022, as 'The Biochemistry Global Summit'.
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Job Vacancies
BBMRI-ERIC is looking for :
CY-Biobank is currently looking for:
Find current job openings from BBMRI-ERIC partners here.
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We'd love to spread your news! If you would like to share any of your news, meetings, vacancies etc. in this newsletter, please send it by email.
The Central Executive Management Office
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