Stakeholder engagement to ensure the sustainability of biobanks: a survey of potential users of biobank services.

Biobanks are important infrastructures facilitating biomedical research. After a decade of rolling out such infrastructures, a shift in attention to the sustainability of biobanks could be observed in recent years. In this regard, an increase in the as yet relatively low utilisation rates of biobanks has been formulated as a goal.

A Federated Online Search Tool for Biospecimens (Sample Locator): Usability Study.

Background: The German Biobank Alliance (GBA) aims to establish a cross-site biobank network. For this endeavor, the so-called Sample Locator, a federated search tool for biospecimens and related data, has been developed, forming the heart of its information technology (IT) infrastructure.

Objective: To ensure the sustainable use of such a tool, we included researchers as participants in an end user-based usability evaluation.

Evaluating the German Biobank Node as Coordinating Institution of the German Biobank Alliance: Engaging with Stakeholders via Survey Research.

The German Biobank Node (GBN) is the central hub for German biobank activities and coordinates the German Biobank Alliance (GBA) to which 11 biobank sites in Germany belong. GBN, in cooperation with designated members of GBA, has developed various services and products for the German biobank community. To ensure that services and products are well aligned with the needs and interests of relevant stakeholders, GBN actively engages with its diverse stakeholder groups through different methods.

Profiling of biological and environmental risk factors in immunogenetic subgroups of chronic lymphocytic leukemia - Czech national study.

Aims: This is a nation-wide survey of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients at six large hematology centers in the Czech Republic. The aim was to identify specific populations, social, and health characteristics of CLL subgroups divided according to the immunogenetic features of their B cell receptors (BCRs) and clonality.

Patients And Methods: Questionnaires directed to specific health, social, and environmental conditions were collected in a cohort of 573 CLL patients.

Position Statement from the German Biobank Alliance on the Cooperation Between Academic Biobanks and Industry Partners.

Under the umbrella of the German Biobank Node (GBN), 11 biobanks and two IT development centers are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to work together in the German Biobank Alliance (GBA). Their common aim is to make existing biomaterials hosted by different biobanks nationally and internationally available for biomedical research. This position article reflects and summarizes contributions and comments made during a GBA workshop, on the cooperation between academic biobanks and pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies that took place in Leipzig on the 21st of June 2018.