since its inception in 2005, bbrb has become a leader in the field of biobanking and the driving force behind the new field of biospecimen science. it has established a multifaceted system of resources addressing the most pressing problem facing 21st century molecular medical research: limited availability of carefully collected and controlled, high-quality human biospecimens.
bbrb's efforts in the development and implementation of evidence-based, standardized procedures for biospecimen science and research, and for the harmonization of approaches to ethical, legal, and social issues (elsi), will not only improve the efficacy, quality, rigor and clinical translation of research, but also lay the foundation for molecular-based medicine. bbrb's activities will facilitate regulatory approval of molecular therapeutics and companion molecular assays. they will also enable technology development through the availability of biospecimens and derivative analytes of verified quality to facilitate head-to-head comparisons of performance.
bbmri (biobanking and biomolecular resources research infrastructure) was one of the first european research infrastructure projects funded by the european commission (ec). the ec-funded preparatory phase of bbmri came to its end in january 2011. during the past 3 years bbmri has grown into a 53-member consortium with over 280 associated organisations (largely biobanks) from over 30 countries, making it the largest research infrastructure project in europe. during the preparatory phase the concept of a functional pan-european biobank was formulated and has now been presented to member states of the european union and for associated states for approval and funding.
bbmri will form an interface between specimens and data (from patients and european populations) and top-level biological and medical research. this can only be achieved through a distributed research infrastructure with operational units in all participating member states. bbmri will be implemented under the eric (european research infrastructure consortium) legal entity. bbmri-eric foresees headquarters (central coordination) in graz, austria, responsible for coordination of the activities of national nodes established in participating countries. bbmri is in the process of submitting its application to the european commission for a legal status under the eric regulation, with an expected start date at the end of 2011.
the public population project in genomics and society (p3g) is a not-for-profit consortium that provides the international research community with access to the expertise, resources and innovative tools for health and social sciences research. p3g works with researchers from around the world to: 1) encourage collaboration between researchers and biobankers; 2) promote harmonization of data; 3) optimize the design, set-up and research activities of studies, biobanks, research databases and other similar health and social research infrastructures; 4) facilitate the transfer of knowledge and provide training.
p3g brings the genomics and health research community together via conferences summer schools as well as online tools. principles of transparency and collaboration are integral to the p3g approach.
international society for biological and environmental repositories (isber) is the only international forum that addresses the technical, legal, ethical, and managerial issues relevant to repositories of biological and environmental specimens.
isber educational resources and meetings focus on technical issues such as quality assurance and control, regulations, human subject privacy and confidentiality issues, and provide information about sources of equipment and expertise. isber assists vendors in recognizing the needs of repositories for the development of new products and services, and provides information about existing repositories and their specimen collections.
founded in 1964, the french national institute of health and medical research (inserm) is a public scientific and technological institute which operates under the joint authority of the french ministry of health and french ministry of research. as the only french public research institute to focus entirely on human health, in 2008 inserm took on the responsibility for the strategic, scientific and operational coordination of biomedical research. this key role as coordinator comes naturally to inserm thanks to the scientific quality of its teams and its ability to conduct translational research, from the laboratory to the patient’s bed.
uk biobank is a major national health resource, and a registered charity in its own right, with the aim of improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses – including cancer, heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, eye disorders, depression and forms of dementia. uk biobank recruited 500,000 people aged between 40-69 years in 2006-2010 from across the country to take part in this project. they have undergone measures, provided blood, urine and saliva samples for future analysis, detailed information about themselves and agreed to have their health followed. over many years this will build into a powerful resource to help scientists discover why some people develop particular diseases and others do not.
ki biobank is a core facility offering sample collection services. ki biobank offer infrastructure for pre analytical sample handling and provide researchers guidance on how samples should be taken and labeled. the processes comprise registration, handling, storage and distribution of samples. ki biobank also offers dna-extraction from blood and saliva. in order to insure complete traceability on samples and belonging information all processes are controlled by a laboratory information management system (lims).
ibbl (integrated biobank luxembourg) is an independent biobanking and biotechnology organisation with the aim of improving healthcare for the people of luxembourg. created in 2008 as part of the national ‘health sciences and technologies’ action plan, ibbl plays a central role in the action plan’s goal of developing luxembourg as a centre of excellence in biomedical research, and bringing personalised medicine to its people.
iso is the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards. we were founded in 1947, and since then have published more than 19 000 international standards covering almost all aspects of technology and business. today we have members from 164 countries and about 150 people work full time for our central secretariat in geneva, switzerland. find out more about our history in the timeline below. or, you can read more about the first 50 years of iso (1947 – 1997) in the book: because ‘international organization for standardization’ would have different acronyms in different languages (ios in english, oin in french for organisation internationale de normalisation), our founders decided to give it the short form iso. iso is derived from the greek isos, meaning equal. whatever the country, whatever the language, the short form of our name is always iso. national governments can make iso standards a regulatory requirement (remember iso standards themselves are voluntary).
aabb is an international, not-for-profit association representing individuals and institutions involved in the field of transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. the association is committed to improving health by developing and delivering standards, accreditation and educational programs that focus on optimizing patient and donor care and safety.
the college of american pathologists (cap), the leading organization of board-certified pathologists, serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide. the cap is governed by its constitution and bylaws to foster the highest standards in education, research, and the practice of pathology; to advance the science of pathology and to improve medical laboratory service; and to enhance the dignity, scientific basis, and efficient practice of the specialty of pathology for the service of the common good. these were last amended by the cap membership in august 2014.
