Biobank and expertise networks

Abstract

Since the year 2000 the number and size of biobank networks has grown in response to the rising research demand for high quality, well-annotated biological samples. So too have the number of expertise networks in which individuals share knowledge, to advance the field of biobanking. This chapter reviews the characteristics of biobank networks and provides case studies of three well-established examples: the Cooperative Human Tissue Network in the USA, the Canadian Tissue Repository Network (CTRNet) and the Korean National Network for Research Resource Centres (KNRRC). Next, there are case studies of three successful expertise networks: the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER), the European, Middle Eastern and African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB) and the French Club 3C-R. This is followed by comparison of biobank and expertise networks, where it is noted that as biobank networks expand to the national and international level, they take on many of the characteristics of expertise networks. The chapter concludes with some thoughts about the shared objectives of biobank and expertise networks and the need for good communication between networks.