"From data quality to tissue biobanking and accreditation, we have once again shown that biobanks advance medical research in many areas," said Julian Dörenberg from the Centralised Biomaterial Bank of the RWTH Aachen University on the second day of the German Biobank Alliance (GBA) meeting in Göttingen. From 12 to 13 June, 57 participants came together to discuss work results and current developments in biobanking. The local host was the Central Biobank of the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), headed by PD Dr. Sara Nußbeck, who was elected GBN board spokesperson and “National Node Director” earlier this year. Dr. Cornelia Specht, GBN managing director, and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Brück, dean of the UMG, recognised her achievements in their welcoming speeches.
GBN anniversary and tribute to Michael Hummel
The first day of the event was dedicated to GBN's anniversary: "The last ten years have been an exciting time in which we have built a vibrant and friendly community that sticks together," summarised Prof. Dr. Michael Hummel, GBN director until the beginning of the year. One of the highlights was the celebration of his achievements with films and speeches. PD Dr. Dr. Michael Kiehntopf, member of the new GBN board, emphasised in his laudatory speech: "Michael Hummel has significantly shaped and advanced biobanking nationally and internationally, both scientifically and politically. The biobanking community owes him a great debt of gratitude".
Current developments
Current work, for example in the areas of quality management, tissue biobanking and IT, shows that Michael Hummel's legacy will continue. Nhutuyen Nguyen, GBN coordinator for quality management, presented activities related to quality control. Julian Dörenberg introduced the newly formed data quality working group. Sven Heiling from the Integrated Biobank Jena (IBBJ) reported on the development of proficiency tests in the network and Prof. Dr. Katja Steiger (TU Munich) spoke about "Next Generation Tissue Biobanking". Inga Bernemann, QM officer of the Hannover Unified Biobank (HUB), gave a vivid report on the accreditation process according to the international biobanking standard DIN EN ISO 20387.
Outlook
What's next for biobanking? Michael Kiehntopf presented the concept of "biobanking on demand", developed at a strategy meeting of the GBN steering committee, which requires even greater standardisation and networking as well as the removal of bureaucratic hurdles. Prof. Dr. Dagmar Krefting, director of the UMG Institute for Medical Informatics, discussed cooperation with the Network of University Medicine (NUM), particularly with regard to data spaces and infrastructures. Cornelia Specht described the intensive cooperation with the European biobank organisation BBMRI-ERIC as part of the EU project "EvolveBBMRI". A highlight was the presentation by Prof. Dr. Jutta Gärtner, who introduced the German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ) and a planned multi-centre, cross-disease cohort. GBN board member Dr. Gabriele Anton said: "The synergies we create through such initiatives are valuable for the further development of the biobank landscape in Germany".
Collaboration and synergies
"Jutta Gärtner's presentation on the DZKJ was a particular highlight for me," commented Dr. Martina Oberländer from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Biobanking-Lübeck (ICB-L). "Overall, I enjoyed the GBA meeting very much, it was once again a nice exchange". At the end of the event, Sara Nußbeck thanked all participants and emphasised the importance of collaboration within the GBA and the wider biobanking community: "We want to bundle biobanking activities in Germany even more and create new synergies. Biobanking is being discussed in many places and at different levels – we want to further strengthen the exchange".
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