500,000 samples in the OPEN biobank
The OPEN biobank has grown steadily since its inception in 2008 and it has now more than half a million specimens.
The biological material is preferentially stored in Odense University Hospital’s (OUH) cold store at minus 80°C and everything is registered in OPEN’s database, OPEN Projects. The majority of the biological material in the OPEN biobank is collected in connection with the execution of a specific research project at one of OUH’s departments. However, many specimens are also collected and stored as a basis for future research. This applies e.g. to Odense Child Cohort (OBK), which alone accounts for approximately 200,000 of the 500,000 specimens. The future biobanks will be established with the expectation that new analytical techniques may eventually generate new knowledge on the already collected biological material and thereby benefit patient care.
The 500,000 specimens are of huge research potential for OUH. This could not have happened without an exceptional collaboration with the biomedical laboratory technologists at the Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology (KBF), who have been an important part from the beginning. In addition to making the arrangements on project management in relation to the biological material, the biomedical laboratory technologists also perform the physical handling such as registration, preparation and freezing of specimens. Moreover the biomedical laboratory technologists are key influencers in the development of the OPEN Projects database.
Surprise visit to KBF occasion of tubes no. 500,000
From left to right, at the back: Harald Hammershøi, Mathias Rabæk Christiansen, Lars Søgaard, Torben Barington, David Hass and Erik Holm-Petersen
In the front: Katrine Rubin, Peter Bjødstrup Jensen, Janni Brødbæk, biomedical laboratory technologists: Anette Tyrsted Mikkelsen and Mette Møller Andreasen
As a part of the visibility of the biological material researchers have collected and stored in the OPEN biobank, OPEN has established collaboration with the Danish Biobank Register. In the course of 2017, it will thus be possible to search information on the types of specimens located in OPEN’s biobanks via the register. However, it is already possible to form an impression of the available biological material via the individual project descriptions at OPEN’s website and this may serve as stepping stones for new research collaborations.
Furthermore, it is possible to visit OPEN’s research support unit or OPEN's research unit to see which facilities OPEN can offer cooperation on, e.g. randomisation of patients, access to register data and general research advice.
OPEN - Supports your research!