Abstract: When Rafaella Rogatto De Faria, a biomedical engineer from the University of São Paulo, set out to study osteoarthritis, her small cohort of 200 patients wasn’t enough to fully explore the genetic and surgical outcomes she needed. That’s when she turned to the UK Biobank, which holds data from half a million people. Suddenly, she had access to information on 40,000 osteoarthritis patients, an astounding 200-fold increase over her initial dataset. This leap highlights the true power of biobanks: transforming research by offering access to diverse, large-scale collections of samples and data that would otherwise take decades to gather.
Biobanks come in all sizes, from small lab-based collections to global initiatives such as the UK Biobank, the Mexico City Prospective Study, and the NIH All of Us program. They provide not only biological samples but also genetic, imaging, and health data, helping researchers worldwide accelerate breakthroughs in medicine. Still, challenges remain: the cost of shipping samples, complex legal agreements, and underutilization, with fewer than 10% of stored samples ever used. Yet when researchers gain access, the impact is game-changing. As seen with projects on osteoarthritis, long COVID, and cancer, biobanks enable collaboration, reduce barriers, and provide secure platforms for analyzing sensitive health data, all moving science faster toward personalized medicine.
Bottom line: Biobanks aren’t just freezers full of samples; they’re global engines of discovery.
Read more here: Using biobanks to boost research: a how-to guide
