The German Biobank Node (GBN) acts as a central connection and cooperation center for German biobanks. Here it forms the roof for the German Biobank Alliance (GBA), an alliance of eleven biobank sites working hand-in-hand to empower biomedical research with world-class biomaterial samples and data.

iBioTUM is a proud partner of this biobank alliance. In a concerted effort, the biobanks of the GBA are developing uniform quality standards, establishing a networked infrastructure and formulating legal and ethical guidelines for biobanking. This represents an essential building block for the further development and quality assurance of biobanking in Germany and Europe.

The networking of German biobanks is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). In addition, GBN is also a partner in the  European research infrastructure for biobanking BBMRI-ERIC, which focuses on networking and the exchange of experience between biobanks within Europe.

The National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON) was initiated in July 2020 as part of the Network University Medicine (NUM) and bundles previously decentralized national research activities into a common framework of cohorts and infrastructures.

For the first time in Germany, NAPKON established a successful cooperation between all German university clinics and other non-university clinics and resident doctors on the basis of a common data protection concept and governance, harmonized study protocols and standardized work instructions for data and biosample collection.

The infrastructures created in the first funding period for the collection, management and provision of data, image data and biosamples from NAPKON have been an integral part of the NUM since 2022 as NUKLEUS (NUM Clinical Epidemiology and Study Platform). Since 2022, NAPKON has also consisted of governance, the cohort platforms and a biodatabase.

The National Autopsy Network NATON in the University Medicine Network (NUM) is a Germany-wide association of university hospitals and autopsy centers that serves to gain systematic and standardized information about pathogens from autopsies, especially in the event of a pandemic. The data generated is recorded and merged completely, comprehensively and promptly.

The Use Case Aligning Biobanking and DIC Efficiently (ABIDE_MI) is a joint project in which a large part of the German university hospitals of the four consortia of the Medical Informatics Initiative (MII) are involved. The aim of the project, which started in May 2021, is for the data integration centers (DIZ) of the MII to link patient data from routine care with data on biosamples and make it usable for research. In particular, researchers should be able to ask feasibility questions about the future German research data portal for health of the MII.

The project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, follows an interdisciplinary approach in which the achievements and experiences of the MII, the German Biobank Node (GBN) and the biobanks of the German Biobank Alliance (GBA) are combined in a sustainable health IT infrastructure : the German research data portal for health of the MII.

The German Research Data Portal for Health (FDPG) is the central contact point for scientists who want to carry out a research project with routine data from German university medicine and other affiliated locations.

As part of the Medical Informatics Initiative (MII), funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, patient data and biosamples from routine care are made available for medical research in the data integration centers of the affiliated locations and are made available in accordance with data protection regulations. The FDPG offers:

• an overview of databases for cross-site research
• the ability to submit feasibility inquiries on available data and biosamples
• a standardized process for requesting data and biosamples
• standardized contractual regulations for uncomplicated data use
• central coordination of data provision
• a transparent presentation of research projects in the project register

Additional information can be found here.

Knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of tumor diseases has radically changed cancer medicine and thus quickly influenced treatment options. Many patients benefit from these developments because they can be offered a sample/tissue-based therapy tailored to their personal tumor profile, a so-called personalized cancer therapy. A prerequisite for these innovative approaches is the professional storage and processing of human samples in biobanks. Biobanks also offer researchers from basic oncological research and clinical research the opportunity to develop new forms of therapy and diagnostics.

With the founding of the Bavarian Center for Cancer Research (BZKF) in November 2019, the major goal is being pursued of giving all citizens in Bavaria, regardless of their place of residence, access to the best possible, latest and innovative therapies. The merger of the six Bavarian university clinics in Augsburg, Erlangen, and the two locations in Munich, Regensburg and Würzburg not only promotes cancer research, but also bundles competencies and knowledge on the topics of early detection, therapy and aftercare of tumor diseases and at the same time those affected are given a comprehensive and interdisciplinary care offered.

As a biobank of the six university hospitals involved, the iBioTUM is part of this comprehensive collection of tumor tissue, if possible also that of any metastases present, as well as body fluids in which tumor cells can be found.

You can find more information here.

New, promising results from cancer research should reach clinical development and application as quickly as possible. To support this goal, the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research, DKTK for short, was founded in 2012 as one of the six German Centers for Health Research (DZG). With the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) as the core center, more than 20 academic research institutions and university clinics cooperate at seven partner locations.

As a DKTK service unit at the Munich location, iBioTUM offers the following services for DKTK researchers:

• Project consulting: Preliminary discussion with the project manager, advice and assistance in the selection of patient groups, advice to control cohorts, advice on methods, information on pre-analytics
• Histopathology: preparation of tissue sections from FFPE blocks, histological H&E diagnostics, immunohistochemistry, planning and production of tissue microarrays (TMAs), preparation of tissue sections from frozen tissue, PAXgene tissue system, formalin-free tissue fixation, preparation of tissue sections, H&E diagnostics
• Molecular pathology: FFPE tissue (DNA isolation, RNA isolation, protein/phosphoprotein isolation), frozen tissue (DNA isolation, RNA isolation, protein/phosphoprotein isolation), PAXgene tissue (DNA isolation, RNA isolation, protein/phosphoprotein isolation)

More information can be found here.