The Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University and University Hospital Brno are establishing a joint biobank of biological samples. The initiative will help advance biomedical research.
The Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University and University Hospital Brno have signed a cooperation agreement to establish and operate a joint Biobank of Clinical Samples. The biobank will be part of the newly emerging Preclinical Centre, which will begin operations in the upcoming academic year, and will provide researchers with access to an extensive and carefully managed collection of biological materials.
“The biobank will store a wide range of biological samples used for scientific research purposes at our joint workplaces. Thanks to easy access to these samples, we will be able to advance medicine, ultimately benefiting patients by enabling us to provide better care,” says Professor Martin Repko, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Masaryk University, commenting on the importance of the facilities located within the continuously expanding campus in Brno-Bohunice.
As confirmed by the Director of University Hospital Brno, Dr. Ivo Rovný, the open biobank infrastructure will enable faster translation of laboratory discoveries into clinical practice and support the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic methods. “We want our experts to have access to their own biobank. At the same time, this is a multidisciplinary and multidimensional project that will also be open to external partners in the future,” Rovný adds. According to him, University Hospital Brno, which provides specialized and highly specialized care including treatment of patients with rare diseases, has the potential to create unique collections of clinical samples and thus contribute significantly to biomedical research and its translation into clinical treatment.
The biobank, being prepared within the new cryobank facilities built by Masaryk University and its Faculty of Medicine, will be equipped with state-of-the-art technologies in line with the latest trends and know-how. It will enable sophisticated and comprehensive collection, processing, storage, and management of clinical samples and related data. Its integration into international biobanking and clinical sample-sharing infrastructures, particularly the European Research Infrastructure for Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources (BBMRI), will support both basic and applied biomedical research and facilitate the creation of joint research teams and projects not only nationally but also globally.
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