Full Programme – 2024
The full programme is also available on the WHOVA website and app. There is also a downloadable A5 PDF version.
Abstract books
Full abstracts are available as PDF books. Downloads: Posters and Orals.
Pre congress day workshops – Tuesday 14 May
The registration for this pre-congress day must be done online as part of the workshop booking form. Please allow time to collect your badge from registration before attending. You can find the workshop information here.
Scientific programme – Wednesday 15 May
| Time/location | |
| 08:00 Botschafterstiege | Registration desk opens |
| 08:00 | Exhibition opens |
| 09:00 Zeremoniensaal | Opening ceremony With ESBB/BBMRI-ERIC leadership, Martin Polaschek – Austrian Federal Minister of Education Science and Research and BBMRI.at |
| 10:30 Festsaal | Refreshments, exhibition and posters |
| 11:00 Zeremoniensaal | Plenary: Keynote lecture I Track One: One Health & Precision Medicine Title: Biobanking for Precision and Genomics Medicine. UK Biobank: scale, depth, duration … but, most importantly, accessibility Keynote speaker: Sir Rory Collins, Principal Investigator and Chief Executive, UK Biobank. Chairs: Jens Habermann & Ayat Salman |
| 13:30 Festsaal | Lunch, exhibition and corporate workshop (Open Specimen – 12:34-13:45) |
| 14:00 | Parallel sessions I |
| Zeremoniensaal | Track One: One Health & Precision Medicine T1 – Role of biobanks in the future of healthcare research Chairs: Ayat Salman & Sara Nussbeck Boehringer Ingelheim session sponsor: Our story State of the Art Speaker: Agnieszka Matera-Witkiewicz: DISRUPTOR in Wroclaw Medical University: Digital Medicine: an Innovative approach for SuppoRt and UPgrade of the diagnosis and Therapy based On Research Speakers Vita Rovite: Detection of hereditary cancer variants in early cancer cohort of Latvian National Biobank Sara Pipponzi: Towards microbiome preservation: Importance, Knowledge gaps & first insights from soil microbiome preservation experiment |
| Geheime Ratsstube | Track Two: Quality and innovative methods T2 – Pre-analytic impact on sample quality – means & measures Chairs: Radka Kaneva & Rocio Aguilar-Quesada State of the Art Speaker: Veronica Ghini (Center of Magnetic Resonance (CERM), University of Florence): NMR fingerprinting for sample quality assessment Speakers Anna Michalska-Falkowska: Enhancing Reproducibility in Biobanking: A Molecular-Based Model for Quality Control of Serum and Plasma Samples in Multi-Omics Assays Sven Heiling: Evaluating biobank processes – a proficiency test concept to enhance sample quality Dorine W. Swinkels: Pre-analytical process for biobanked biomaterials poorly reported: a cause of replicability crisis in clinical biomarker research? Standard BioTool: Five-minute industry snapshot |
| Rittersaal | Track Three: Stakeholders in the spotlight T3 – Training and education for quality improvement and knowledge generation Chairs: Nuria Montserrat & Jörg Geiger State of the Art Speaker: Marie Karlikova: Learning by doing in biobanking – Czech-Bavarian cross-border, interdisciplinary experience Speakers Valeria Di Cola: The first Swiss educational program on Biobanking for a large audience to unlock biobanking from basic knowledge to specialized professional Daniel Brucker: Educational program for biobank personnel and interested persons Heidi Altmann: Starter kit: a practice-oriented guideline for the establishment and operation of professional biobanks Vasileios L. Zogopoulos: Biobanking education: the project “SCIence outreach: The example of BIObanks in Europe” and its progression so far |
| Trabantenstube | Track Four: Insights into Healthcare: Patient Engagement, Rare Diseases, and Organisational Profiles T4 – Organisational profiles Chairs: Maria Judit Molnar & Loes Linsen State of the Art Speaker: Jana Pavlic Zupanc: Introducing the EvolveBBMRI project – Accelerating datafication for support of EU health priorities, greening of biobanks and integrated Research Infrastructures’ approach to “One Health” Speakers Soichi Ogishima: Biobank network in Japan to accelerate progress towards genomic medicine. Massimiliano Borsani: Strengthening the Italian National node of BBMRI, BBMRI.it Oksana Sulaieva: Fostering genetic studies in Ukraine by developing biobanking network_ challenges and future perspectives |
| 15:30 Festsaal | Refreshments, exhibition and posters |
| 16:00 Antekammer Marmorsaal | Poster session one |
| 17:00 | Parallel sessions II |
| Zeremoniensaal | Track Two: Quality and innovative methods T6 – The road towards ISO 20387 accreditation Chairs: José Antonio López-Guerrero & Agnieszka Matera-Witkiewicz State of the Art Speaker: Lila Kalio: Finland: Auria Biobank Speakers Vereb Zoltan: Balancing Quality and Costs: Challenges in Implementing ISO 20387 in Biobank Operations Andrea Martina Terracciano: Implementation of ISO 20387 standards: Transitioning with human tissue authority (UK) requirements Sabine Bavamian: SBP labels, the Swiss Quality program to support national biobanks towards the implementation of the ISO 20387:2018 |
| Geheime Ratsstube | Track Three: Stakeholders in the spotlight T7 – Information security and data privacy Chairs: Michal Malewicz & Lisa Oster State of the Art Speaker: Nathalie Poupaert: “Challenges for the Biobanking Community in Light of the New EU Digital Package of regulations, with a Focus on the European Health Data Space (EHDS)” Speakers Oliver Karch: Donor first – how to foster usage of banked clinical samples by leveraging large language models and AI technologies to analyze Informed Consent Forms Alessandra Langella: The exchange of health data through the cloud. How to overcome the possible risks for patients. |
| Rittersaal | Track One: One Health & Precision Medicine T5 – Success stories – Biobanks fostering medical progress Chairs: Daiva Dabkeviciene & Daniel Brucker State of the Art Speaker: Dr. Eero Punkka: Transferring risk mutation data from biobank to healthcare Speakers Zdenka Dudová, Radovan Tomášik, Kurt Majcen: Story behind BBMRI-ERIC Federated Platform Saba Abdulghani, Łukasz Kozera, Manuela Pausan, Jens Habermann: Biobanks as facilitators of medical research: Success stories Viktor Molnár and all: Semmelweis Federated Data Warehouse for integrating biobanks and genomic data by privacy-preserving sharing at institutional level |
| 18:30 to 21:00 Festsaal | Welcome reception Podium discussion: “Opportunities for Industry & Academic collaborations towards personalised medicine in light of global challenges” Chairs: Jens K. Habermann & Roland Leiminger Panellists: Kirsten Tief-Kuery (ThermoFisher) Francesca Trapani (Boehringer-Ingelheim) Samuel Kroll (Illumina) Marco Hautalahti (BBMRI Finland) |
Scientific programme – Thursday 16 May
| Time/location | |
| 08:00 Botschafterstiege | Registration desk opens |
| 08:00 | Exhibition opens |
| 08:00 Geheime Ratsstube | ESBB General Assembly |
| 09:00 | Parallel sessions III |
| Zeremoniensaal | Track One: One Health & Precision Medicine T8 – Public Health Emergencies -Growing importance in the One Health concept Chairs: Stephani Villar & Karine Sarsyan State of the Art Speaker: Markus Ulrich: Taï Chimpanzee Project – A platform for an One Health approach Speakers Dominic Blaesing: One Health Surveillance – a holistic approach to One Health assessment in Sub-Saharan Africa and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Ingrid Walter: Unlocking the Power of Veterinary Samples: A Promising Source for “One-Health” Research Andreia Lopes: HPV vaccination outcomes: HPV seroprevalence in Lisbon area after 10 years Holly Parker for Thermo Fisher Scientific: Five-minute industry snapshot – Embrace sustainability in your Biobank with greener ULT Freezers |
| Geheime Ratsstube | Track Three: Stakeholders in the spotlight T10 – ELSI topics in biobanking – friend or foe? Chairs: Vita Rovite & Valentina Colcelli State of the Art Speaker: Prof. Signe Mežinska, University of Latvia: Unlocking Potential, Addressing Concerns: Use of AI in Biobank-Based Research through the Lens of Research Ethics Committees Speakers Monika Valjan: Informed Consent for Minors – Empowering the Future of Paediatric Research Sara Casati: Hands On Old Collections: The Biobank As A Fair Vector Of Integration In The Scientific Ecosystem Teodora-Lalova Spinks: Implications and Challenges for Biobanks in the European Health Data Space |
| Rittersaal | Track Two: Quality and innovative methods T9 – Modelling and regenerative Medicine – Artificial Cellular Models Chairs: Roman Hrstka & Anna Michalska-Falkowska State of the Art Speaker: Prof. Karine Sargsyan: Biobanks as the Cornerstone of Future Medicine State of the Art Speaker: Jan Bouchal: 3D organoids and ex vivo cultivation of tumor tissues in oncological research and personalized medicine Speakers Yue Zhao: Decoding Cellular Plasticity and Microenvironment Crosstalk in Gastro-Esophageal Adenocarcinoma through a Living Biobank of Patient-Derived Organoids and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Antonella Mirabile: A review of the ELSI challenges of organoids biobanking |
| Trabantenstube | Track Four: Insights into Healthcare: Patient Engagement, Rare Diseases, and Organisational Profiles T11 – Rare diseases Chairs: Neşe Atabey & Constantinos Deltas State of the Art Speaker: Prof. Ugur Ozbek: Boosting rare disease research capacity through national and international networking Speakers Joanna Vella: Mitochondrial Complex 1 deficiency; a case study Claudia Di Bartolomeo: Swiss Autoimmune Liver Disease (AILD) Biobank |
| 10:30 Festsaal | Refreshments, exhibition and posters |
| 11:00 Zeremoniensaal | Plenary: Keynote lecture II Track One: One Health & Precision Medicine Title: Biobanking with Underrepresented Populations: The Critical Role of Participant Engagement Keynote speaker: Dr. Gillian Bartlett, from the School of Medicine at the University of Missouri Chairs: Marialuisa Lavitrano & Pasquale DiBlasio |
| 12:30 Festsaal | Lunch, exhibition and corporate workshop (DNAnexus: 12:45-13:45) |
| 14:00 | Parallel sessions IV |
| Zeremoniensaal | Track Three: Stakeholders in the spotlight: T14 – “Be aware of Biobanking” – Outreach and Communication in and for Biobanks Chairs: Alexander Hertzberg & Ronny Baber State of the Art Speaker: Verena Huth: A Decade of Outreach: Communication Strategies tailored to Different Stakeholders – Best Practices of the German Biobank Node State of the Art Speaker: Emma Hvitfeldt/Christian Bruzelius: Communication – a tool for awareness and implementation of a new Biobank Act Speakers Janna Nissen: Danish patients are willing to contribute to genetic research – knowledge gained from the Copenhagen Hospital Biobank Cornelia Stumptner: Bringing biobanking and pathology closer to children and adults |
| Geheime Ratsstube | Track One: One Health & Precision Medicine T12 – Bioinformatics and -omics and Big data Chairs: Andres Metspalu & Erik Steinfelder State of the Art Speaker: Bettina Lorenz-Depiereux: Systematic molecular analyses of the NAPKON cohorts – an overview Speakers Joseph Dowsett: Developing Inflammatory Polygenic Scores in Copenhagen Hospital Biobank data as a research tool to uncover links between inflammation, sex, and disease Niina Pitkänen: Use of genomic data returned to biobank for predicting pharmacodynamic efficacy Dr. Diana Drettwan: MaMaMeDx: Metabolomic digital twins to improve diagnostics and screening using breast cancer biobank samples as an example |
| Trabantenstube | Track Four: Insights into Healthcare: Patient Engagement, Rare Diseases, and Organisational Profiles T15– Citizen & Patient Involvement: Emerging best practices? Chairs: Eric Vermeulen & Ciara Staunton Speakers Sanita Sinica: Involvement in biobank – rare disease patient experience and perspective in Latvia. Patient perspective Anna Clareborn: Better collaboration, user research and co-creation with patients Marija Armus: National Patient Participation within Biobank Sweden |
| 15:30 Festsaal | Refreshments, exhibition and posters |
| 16:00 Antekammer Marmorsaal | Poster session two |
| 17:00 | Parallel sessions V |
| Zeremoniensaal | Track Two: Quality Management and pre-analytics T17 – Getting more from less – liquid biopsies, biopsies and fine needle aspirates for molecular techniques Chairs: Anne-Marie Vangsted & Carmen Swanepoel State of the Art Speaker: Bo Franzén: Minimally invasive fine needle aspiration-based molecular diagnostics in support of precision cancer medicine Speakers Nicolai Sode Mikkelsen: Rescue of Low-Yield DNA Samples for Next-Generation Sequencing Using Vacuum Centrifugal Concentration in a Clinical Workflow Tasha-Leigh Walters: Verification of a Method for Generating Single-Cell Suspensions from FFPE Cervical Tissue for Flow Cytometry Analysis and Cell Sorting Alessia Leone: Advanced Biobanking for Adult Adipose tissues-derived Stem Cells |
| Geheime Ratsstube | Track One: One Health & Precision Medicine T16 – Epidemiological Biobanking – Cohorts as a show window for populations Chairs: Kristian Hveem & Eleni Fthenou State of the Art Speaker: Assoc prof. Therese Haugdahl Nøst: Study protocols, biobank features and sample collection for a longitudinal population cohort study in Norway. The Tromsø study State of the Art Speaker: Dr Seow Shih Wee: Addressing the Asian Genomic Gap – the National Precision Medicine Programme Speakers Ronny Baber: From population-based towards healthcare integrated biobanking – the journey of the Leipzig Medical Biobank Ulrika Morris: Swedish biobank cohorts and legal aspects on their potential for use within Precision Medicine Thermo Fisher Scientific: 5-minute industry snapshot: Francesco Florindi: Biobanks in the future of predictive genomics |
| Rittersaal | Track Three: Stakeholders in the spotlight T18 – Partnerships towards real world data – Opportunities, needs and hurdles Chairs: Kurt Zatloukal & Philipp Mann State of the Art Speaker: Marialuisa Lavitrano: European Open Science Cloud State of the Art Speaker: Isabel Novoa: Biobanks samples catalogue: challenges and opportunities Speakers Eszter Tuboly: Collaborative Efforts in Developing a Future-proof Biobank Information Management System for Pediatric Oncology: a FAIRy tale from Hungary Nicolas Ferry: Clinical, Biological, Imaging and Genetic Repository (C-BIG), An Integrated Approach to Biobanking in the Context of Open Science Łukasz Kozera: Cost recovery model in biobanking – from theory to practice. Success stories of model implementation in three EU funded projects. |
| 18:30 | Free time |
| 19:30 | Networking dinner – Wiener Rathauskeller |
Scientific programme – Friday 17 May
| Time/location | |
| 08:00 Botschafterstiege | Registration desk opens |
| 08:00 | Exhibition opens |
| 09:00 Rittersaal | Ethics Café Session chairs: Dr. Michaela Th. Mayrhofer and Dr. Pieter Moons This interactive session aims at facilitating an exchange of thoughts and knowledge about pressing ethical issues. The ignition for this year’s topic on ethics committees and biobanks is given by Prof. Josef Haas. We count on your insights and experiences to bring different viewpoints forward and engage in the exchange that this format provides. |
| 10:30 Festsaal | Brunch and exhibition |
| 11:00 Seitengalerie | Track Four: Insights into Healthcare: Patient Engagement, Rare Diseases, and Organisational Profiles T19 – Pitch your innovative idea Chairs: Nikolai Pace Speakers Peter Verhaert: MSHC: An innovative todown multi-omics spatial technology with single cell resolution to unlock biomolecular information from FFPE samples archived in biobanks Naila Loudini: Empowering Genetic Counseling in Biobanks: The Rise of Chatbots and the Case of Alva Sara Casati: Digital informed consent/assent matrix based on Common Condition of Use Elements: Coproducing an APP to track the process, return results, re-contact Matthias Nauck: Laser-based state of the art cryotube labelling |
| 12:00 | Parallel sessions VI |
| Zeremoniensaal | Track One: One Health & Precision Medicine T20 – Artificial intelligence and precision medicine Chairs: Georg Göbel & Roland Leiminger State of the Art Speaker: Svetlana Gramatiuk: Legal and ethical issues of using AI in Biobank in countries with an average income level Speakers Konrad Kurowski: Fast-track AI-assisted immunohistochemical stain quantification and statistical analysis of TMAs Mónica Cano Abadía, Melanie Goisauf, Michaela Th. Mayrhofer, Kaya Akyüz: Unlocking the Potential of Big Data and AI in Medicine: Insights from Biobanking Pasquale De Blasio: AI, Digital Pathology and TMA to explore cancer biology |
| Geheime Ratsstube | Track Two: Quality and innovative methods T21 – Tools to achieve quality – (new) standards for biobanks Chairs: Christine Joye & Mieke Dewilde State of the Art Speaker: Clare Allocca: ISBER Best Practices and interrelated tools State of the Art Speaker: Marc Vandelaer & Khalil Roy: Towards Biobank Excellence: A Swiss Biobank Information Management System Relying on Standardized Dataset and Workflow Management Speakers Nele Coenen & Natascha Perales Selva: Ensuring and Sustaining Data Quality in the Biobank Information Management System Joerg Geiger: Advancing Reliability and Trustworthiness of Research Results with the Common Provenance Model for Biological Material and Data |
| Trabantenstube | Track Three: Stakeholders in the spotlight T22 – Green biobanking and sustainability Chairs: Jörg Hamann & Elne Conradie State of the Art Speaker: Mille Løhr: BIOSEK – A cost-effective freezer facilities provided free of charge for researchers within the Copenhagen Hospital Region Speakers Michael Neumann: A Generic Concept for Biobank Services Reimbursement Andreas Nessel: Construction of a sustainable biorepository Manon T. Huizing: Visualising biobank costs Marta Martín-Ayuso: Novel Dry Storage Approach for DNA Preservation at Room Temperature Jörg Hamann: Winning the Freezer Challenge Clinical Biorepository Award 2023 |
| 13:30 Zeremoniensaal | Awards and closing ceremony |