Extensive data and biomaterials related to long-term cohorts of specific patient groups and in population-based and biobank studies are available. Well-known Groningen Biobank/cohort studies are LifeLines, Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen, PREVEND, GIANTT and TRAILS. Clinical biobanks have been given a boost by the participation of the UMCG in the Parelsnoer Institute (PSI) of the NFU.
The envisioned infrastructure provides Governance of UMCG cohorts facility and stimulates the unlocking and use of the existing cohorts to internal and external collaborators. The infrastructure will be developed around the following themes.
- The basic support for UMCG cohorts in terms of documentation, legislation, practical execution, contracts, privacy.
- Harmonising procedures, underlying meta data, data management systems, questionnaires, testing and sample processing procedures,
- Each cohort will have its own FAIR catalogue; meta‐data whenever possible open
- A UMCG cohorts catalog available for the outside world;
- Data management and data management for cohorts
- Linked to Health-RI, BBMRI networks and Research-IT program
Facilities, expertise and experience is available on all methodological aspects of cohort and biobank research (e.g. research design, bioinformatics, bio-imaging, laboratory processes, statistics, on legal and regulatory affairs and on quality and privacy). In addition, the UMCG invested in facilities for biobank research, especially large-scale ICT facilities and long-term storage of biomaterials. In November 2012, the Board established the UMCG Biobank Regulations, that provide rules and guidelines for the collection, storage and use of human tissue and associated data from patients in the UMCG.
Extensive facilities are available to support the CBCH, see https://www.umcg.nl/EN/Research/Researchers/Facilities/Paginas/default.aspx