FREEZE-Biobank Freiburg is a member of the German Biobank Alliance
The aim of the network is to provide multi-site collections of biomaterial samples for medical research and thus accelerate the development of new therapies
The FREEZE Biobank of the Freiburg University Medical Center and the Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg is a member of the German Biobank Alliance (GBA). The aim of the alliance is to provide cross-site collections of biomaterial samples for medical research and thus accelerate the development of new therapies. To this end, the participating biobanks are establishing common quality standards and building a networked IT structure.
Precision medicine uses data from genetic or molecular research in order to use the right therapy for a patient at the right time. Biobanks collect, process and store human biomaterials, such as blood or tissue, which are required for this type of research. "Biobanks are an important prerequisite for precision medicine. They provide the research material that doctors and scientists need to develop new targeted therapies," explains PD Dr. Alexandra Nieters, Head of the FREEZE Biobank Freiburg.
The German Biobank Alliance (GBA) was founded in 2017 to establish uniform quality standards for academic biobanks in Germany and to network them via a common IT structure. The GBA has now added the FREEZE Biobank Freiburg and two other biobanks to its network. "The new partners are an enrichment for the German Biobank Alliance," comments Prof. Dr. Michael Hummel, coordinator of the GBA. With their collections, the newly accepted biobanks are expanding the joint sample pool, which scientists will be able to search for specific properties in future using the overarching IT infrastructure and thus find suitable samples for their research. Hummel: "Measures such as comprehensive quality tests and training programmes will improve sample processing at all Alliance partners and facilitate standardization. In this way, we want to ensure that research results become even more reliable".
About the FREEZE-Biobank Freiburg
In November 2018, the University Medical Center Freiburg and the Medical Faculty of the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg im Breisgau decided to establish a center for biobanking with the acronym FREEZE-Biobank to professionalize and harmonize the processes of biosample collection at the site. At the heart of the FREEZE Biobank and the basis for cross-site networking in the GBA IT infrastructure is a modern biobank information management system. This system will be used jointly by all partners at the site. The first partner biobanks within the FREEZE biobank will be the tumor tissue bank of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Freiburg (Prof. Dr. Martin Werner / PD Dr. Peter Bronsert), the HILDA biobank at the Center for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine (Prof. Dr. Charlotte Niemeyer / Dr. Silvia Rathmann), the biobank of the Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency (Prof. Dr. Stephan Ehl) and the rheumatology biobank (Prof. Dr. Reinhard Voll / PD Dr. Marta Rizzi).
About the German Biobank Alliance (GBA)
Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and under the leadership of the German Biobank Node (GBN), the biobanks of eleven German university hospitals and two IT centers joined forces in the German Biobank Alliance in 2017. In the first year alone, more than 982 medical science projects were supported with samples. In May 2019, the Central Biomaterial Bank of Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (ZeBanC), the West German Biobank Essen (WBE) of the Faculty of Medicine at Essen University Hospital, the Comprehensive Biobank Marburg (CBBMR) and the Central Biobank Regensburg were accepted as new Alliance partners. These were followed by the FREEZE-Biobank Freiburg, the BioBank Dresden and the Central Biobank of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Tübingen-Stuttgart.
Links
FREEZE-Biobank Freiburg: www.uniklinik-freiburg.de/freeze-biobank.html
German Biobank Alliance (GBA): www.bbmri.de/ueber-gbn/german-biobank-alliance/
Understanding biobanks: www.biobanken-verstehen.de
Contact:
University Medical Center Freiburg
Benjamin Waschow
Head of Corporate Communications/Press Spokesperson
Phone: 0761 270-19090
benjamin.waschow@uniklinik-freiburg.de
German Biobank Node (GBN)
Verena Huth
Press and Public Relations
Phone: 030 450 536 354
verena.huth@charite.de
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