A biobank is a public or private nonprofit structure, which stores a collection of biological samples, designed for biomedical research. It is a strategic tool for the development of clinical and translational research. Biobanks allow the study of various diseases with serious impact on health and open doors to the identification of new diagnostic and prognostic tests, and new therapeutic targets.
The use of biobanks in biomedical research results into advantages in terms of reliability, speed and efficiency of the results. Biobanks allow the recruitment of large and clearly defined populations in a short period of time for large epidemiological studies.
Biobank based research requires:
The Biobanco-IMM is a resource created to foster biomedical research, offering the most current software for management of samples and clinical information, adapted according to the identified needs.
As such, it is accessible to all researchers, and all types of clinical research of public interest. All applications from researchers, research institutions or industry, Portuguese or foreign, are subject to the same selection criteria and evaluation.
The Biobanco-IMM is authorized by the Ethics Commission of the Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte – Hospital de Santa Maria to collect and store biological samples for research purposes. The clinical database is authorized by the National Commission for Data Protection. The Biobanco-IMM is undergoing certification together with IMM.
The Biobanco-IMM actively promotes the establishment of protocols and consortia in order to enrich their collections in order to establish itself as a structure of national and international reference.
The Biobanco-IMM collaborates with several organizations and health departments of biomedical research. It is partner of the BioBanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI).
The biobank-IMM provides specific services to researchers.
For depositing your samples
For requesting samples for research
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