New features include:

• Participant: Soft warnings (Draft mode)
• Query: Sequence for all specimens
• Specimen print tokens for PV properties
• Managing kits
• ‘Workflow Plugin’ enhancements

Refer to the release notes for more details.

The demo site is updated with the latest release if you want to try out the new features!

Contact support@krishagni.com if you are interested in upgrading the OpenSpecimen instance at your site.

The university launched the R1.2 billion biomedical research facility on Friday, saying the new building will place it at the forefront of biomedical sciences.

The fully automated Biorepository Unit, the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, will allow the facility to store up to 3.5 million samples at – 80°C, in an automated biological storage system. This replaces chest freezers previously used and conserves energy while ensuring sample integrity.

Click to read more.

New features include:

• New tokens at the visit level
• Specimen – Storage site-based specimen edit check access
• Specimen – Check in check out
• Specimen – Edit closed/disposed specimens
• Workflows Plugin: List of tasks, form and table view with validations, navigation to the previous step

Please refer to the release notes for more details.

The demo site is updated with the latest release if you want to try out the new features!

Contact support@krishagni.com if you are interested in upgrading the OpenSpecimen instance at your site.

The samples, which are linked to patients’ de-identified electronic medical records (EMRs), have enabled hundreds of VUMC scientists and their collaborators to explore the genetic roots of disease, discover potential new treatments, and push the boundaries of personalized medicine.

BioVU has been “transformational” for VUMC and for genomic research, said the biobank’s founding director, Dan Roden, MD, professor of Medicine, Pharmacology and Biomedical Informatics and Senior Vice President for Personalized Medicine at VUMC, who holds the Sam L. Clark, MD, PhD Chair.

Click to read more.

Nowadays, many diseases like blood cancer can be treated with cord blood that was previously thrown away.4 Stored cells can be banked or preserved for long periods, making them available for immediate treatment when needed and preventing disease progression.

Read this article that discuss the current trend, benefits, and challenges in the stem cell banking.  

There is a recognized need to develop more standardized and harmonized technical procedures for the constitution of biobanks, especially in terms of biospecimen collection and associated data. In this context, the purpose of the COMET (COllection of MEtabolic Tissues) biobank project is to create a high-quality collection of insulin-sensitive tissues (liver, muscle, adipose tissues and epiploic artery) and blood derivatives (DNA, RNA, plasma and serum) collected from grade 2–3 obese patients (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 35 kg/m2) undergoing bariatric surgery. The overarching goal of this biobank is to promote translational and pharmaceutical research in the field of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and related metabolic disorders.

Read this paper to know more.

Al-Jalajel said that this project is one of the important milestones in raising the efficiency and effectiveness of the infrastructure of public health systems in the Kingdom.

The minister said it will help localization of biotechnologies, which include in its applications research related to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

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CHAVI is the first imaging biobank exclusively dedicated to oncological imaging from India. The project has been designed as a research collaboration between Tata Medical Center, Kolkata, and IIT Kharagpur and developed as a part of the National Digital Library of India (NDLI). Its purpose is to develop an image biobank that is available across the country and to foster a foundation for future collaborative research efforts amongst major Indian cancer institutes. The project will encourage researchers, academicians, and industry experts to use the wealth of imaging data available in CHAVI.

Click to read more. 

Led by biologist Sherryl Bisgrove and supported by the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the team has developed a cryogenic freezing technique to store germplasm, or “seed”, of at-risk bull kelp in a biobank.

This allows the team, including postdoctoral fellow Liam Coleman and lab manager Silven Read, to preserve the local biodiversity of the species in case some populations become extinct off coastal waters. The collection of “seed” could be used to aid restoration efforts and advance research projects such as identifying kelp populations that may be better suited to survive in the warmer waters expected with climate change.

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The biorepository was launched on 22 September 2022. It will be used for current and future research, including collection and storage of biological material as well as creation and refinement of data tools. Each of the two -80°C freezers in the biorepository can hold 36,000 samples stored in pre-barcoded vials. About 12% of the storage space is currently in use.

Most of the samples in the facility are from the BUILD project’s 21 research sites in Uganda , which are collected using the Open Data Kit (ODK), an open-source mobile platform.  So far, BUILD has invested €200,000 in the purchase of freezers, generators, capacity building for researchers and technicians, and installation of biobanking software OpenSpecimen. Users with login access can view the contents of the freezers online and view sample-related information including reports and locations within the freezers.

Click to read more.