Biobanking Spotlight on Europe, Middle East, and Africa: Presenting the Collective Experience of the ISBER-EMEA Regional Ambassadors

Establishing Biobanking in Medical Curricula—The Education Program “Precision Medicine International” (eduBRoTHER)

Biobanking is becoming increasingly important as a key tool for precision medicine, but neither biobanking nor precision medicine itself have generally been integrated in medical curricula. However, most medical students will encounter these topics in their future careers as physicians or researchers. The European Union (EU)-funded project eduBRoTHER aims to close this gap of professional input. Since the academic year 2020/21, students at the Faculty of Medicine of Pilsen-Charles University and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Regensburg have been offered an innovative core elective subject that focuses on biobanking and precision medicine issues, using the concept of blended learning.

Training in biobanking in the context of modern medical education

The development of biomedical research based on predictive, preventive and personalized medicine has served as a challenge to the formation and rapid development of a novel interdisciplinary scientific area  — biobanking, the main goal of which is the long-term proper storage of biological samples and related data for use in scientific and clinical research. Qualified personnel, along with the creation and development of biobank infrastructure, provide high-quality results required for biomedicine. Education and training must reflect the changing scope of knowledge and adapt to biobanking challenges. In this regard, there is an increasing need to develop and implement educational programs for staff working in and managing biobanks, as well as researchers, doctors and students who are not familiar with this area, but plan research using bioresources. The aim of this review is to present an analysis of the main biobanking directions and training programs in the world and in Russia in order to assess the existing problems and needs.

Education for future biobankers - The state-of-the-art and outlook

Biobanking as a quickly growing branch of personalised medicine has undergone enormous progress during last two decades. Nowadays it is a well developed and structured multidisciplinary field that reflects developments and advances of biomedical research based on principles of predictive, preventive and personalised medicine (PPPM/3PM). All these trends in PPPM progress have to be translated into practice and education of new generation of scientists and healthcare givers. The importance of biobanks for multitasking research, personalised treatment, and health care systems was emphasised by many scientists and health care experts. As biobanking carries multidisciplinary character currently including more professionals than ten—twenty years ago, new generation of professional biobankers is urgently needed. To create new generation of biobankers who are fully competent to answer more and more scientific and practical questions, new study programmes, novel university curricula, and topic-dedicated courses are essential. The aim of the review is to present basic forms, trends of biobanking education offered by various biobanking related bodies and to highlight future needs. The first step is to cover all activities and duties of biobanks: acquiring, collecting, storageing and sharing biological samples and associated data, using adequate assessment for both - materials and data, taking into consideration ethical, legal, and societal issues (ELSI), responding to all stakeholder needs including pharmaceutical and other related industries, patient organisations and many other interested groups, emerging technologies and innovations as well as current and future requirements of health care systems. To compile educational programmes is a comprehensive task for all actors involved in the field of biobanking who contribute to the harmonised process of creating high educational level for future generation of biobankers. The exchange of experience involving extensive international collaboration is the way how to facilitate the process of creating optimal biobanking education.