BBMRI-NL 2.0 - Newsletter November 2019
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BBMRI series on Sustainable Biobanking 

Many biobanks struggle with their long-term survival. To support individual biobanks and researchers BBMRI-NL has developed nine recommendations for sustainable biobanking, depicted in an easily accessible infographic. The infographic is part of a BBMRI-NL Series on Sustainable Biobanking bringing together current knowledge from literature, workshops, and focus groups. The series also includes good practices, practical tools, inspirational examples, and relevant background information on sustainable biobanking.


 

Health-RI conference 2020: towards data driven health

How can we learn from today's patients so that tomorrow's patients get better treatment? Leading experts will address these questions at the Health-RI conference 2020 on January 30th in the Jaarbeurs Utrecht.  Everything about the enablers and challenges on the road to data-driven health.

More about the program of the conference.

What biobankers and researchers think about ELSI

Biobanks have become complex infrastructures that play an important role in health research. In combination with the advances in molecular medicine and genomics led to ethical, legal and societal implications (ELSI). How do ELSI implications influence biobanking practices? Are the cross-national biobanking research communities satisfied with the current ELSI related procedures?

Read more here.

Blood biomarkers help to assess vulnerability of elderly people


A specific combination of biomarkers in blood can help to assess the health status and vulnerability of elderly people. This was found in a study recently published in Nature Communications. The results were consistent for men and women over the age of 60 in five European countries.

The study was led by the Leiden University Medical Center and made possible through an international collaboration between biobanks, BBMRI-NL and the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging.

You can read the article on BBMRI.nl.

The ethical challenges for Biomedical research infrastructure
 

BBMRI-NL interviewed Dr. Martin Boeckhout about the ethical challenges that biomedical research infrastructure is facing over the coming years, the topic of his PhD thesis.
 
Large scale biomedical databases and biobanks focus on collecting more data, multidisciplinary collaboration and further integration of healthcare and research. These developments come with new ethical challenges. Dr Boeckhout: “We need to rethink the role that ethics review can play in such circumstances – do we stick with independent ethics review in advance of projects, or do we add some form of ongoing ethics assessment in the governance structure of major programs.”
 

Image: Dr. Martin Boeckhout

Currently, BBMRI-NL has incorporated a dedicated ELSI work package as part of the R&D program. Also, a Patient & Public Advisory Council was set up by Boeckhout and Prof. dr. Zielhuis that provides a societal perspective.  In the proposed follow-up program, DARE-4-LIFE, ELSI assessments will be further integrated within the other work packages to ensure structural linkage between infrastructure development and the ethical, legal and societal implications.   
 
Read the full interview with Dr. Boeckhout, now senior consultant at the MLC foundation.
EVENTS & UPDATES

Call for abstracts: 10 years of BBMRI-NL, share your expertise, experience and ideas

In 2020, it will be 10 years ago that BBMRI-NL started to build the joint national infrastructure necessary to make maximal use of biosamples, images and data for health research. This anniversary is a great occasion to show and share the BBMRI-NL achievements within the Health-RI community.

The poster & demonstration session at the Health-RI 2020 conference will give special attention to BBMRI-NL results and will also offer the opportunity for short plenary pitches. 

Please check the abstract submission guidelines.

The 2020 International Statistical Genetics Workshop: Statistical genetic methods for human complex traits.

Boulder, Colorado, March 2nd-6th, 2020.

Formerly known as the `Methodology of Twin and Family Studies Introductory Workshop’
 
Hands-on analysis will be emphasized.
 
Registration is now open!



For updates on research tools, research calls and news, follow BBMRI on Linkedin.



 
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