Organisation
BBMRI.nl
BBMRI-ERIC is a European research infrastructure for biobanking. In 25 states, it brings together researchers, biobankers, industry, and patients to boost biomedical research. BBMRI-ERIC offers quality management services, support with ethical, legal and societal issues, and a number of online tools and software solutions with the ultimately goal to make new treatments possible.
The Dutch node of BBMRI has been established through subsequent programs sponsored by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). Between 2008-2014, BBMRI.nl set up a collaboration between existing clinical and population biobanks in the Netherlands and formed the link to BBMRI-ERIC. BBMRI.nl aimed at enrichment and harmonization of Dutch biobanks including data management and analysis, laying legal, social, and ethical foundations and to improve access to and interoperability between biobanks.
Between 2015-2019, the focus moved towards making the infrastructure for joint biobank activities in the Netherlands future-proof. After a bridging period, parts of the BBMRI.nl portfolio have been integrated, together with the Parelsnoer initiative for clinical biobanks, into the national health & life sciences data infrastructure Health-RI, which receives funding for the years 2023-2029 from a National Growth Funds of the Dutch government. BBMRI.nl operates mainly within the Health-RI pillar Biobank & Collections and applies the organizational structure of Health-RI with a national hub and regional nodes centered at the Dutch academic hospitals. BBMRI.nl defines itself as community that brings stakeholders and partners in the biobank research field.
The goals of BBMRI.nl are realized in close collaboration with other ESFRIs, including ELIXIR, EATRIS, and EuroBioImaging. Health-RI envisions to establish and manage an ESFRI-overarching service portfolio (a so-called “House of Services”) to support health & life sciences researchers in the Netherlands.
In 2024, BBMRI-ERIC celebrated its 10th anniversary and launched a new 10-Year Roadmap 2025-2035. The co-creation of the Roadmap has been achieved with unparalleled community and stakeholder engagement, also including and inspiring the biobank network in the Netherlands. In a world that is facing continuous and persistent challenges, such as the war against Ukraine and in the Middle East, climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, and environmental degradation, adoption of the One Health paradigm structures our endeavours and enables us to better tackle the complex, interconnected, challenges affecting human, animal, and environmental health. Our response includes developing and implementing climate-friendly operations, alongside advancing global perspectives. Both have become overarching themes within our 10-Year Roadmap.