Sustainable biobanking: 20 ways to encourage the use of existing collections

Author: Carian Boorsma

Biobanks are valuable resources with vast amounts of human biological samples and data available for future research. They are increasingly recognized as an essential part of health research. But not everyone seems to be able to find their way to these valuable collections as underuse of collections are a concern of many biobankers (1,2). As a consequence, freezers remain full and the stored samples and data do not contribute to new research and societal impact. So how can we encourage researchers to make better use of existing collections in their research? 

Underlying causes

In order to stimulate use of existing collections, we need to know why researchers are not using them in the first place. One of the reasons is that they simply do not  know that a specific collection exists. Relevant information might be available on a website, but may not attract many visitors. Furthermore, information may not be up to date. 

Sometimes, the “not-invented-here” syndrome may affect the readiness of researchers to use samples from a certain biobank (3). In general, we have a tendency to trust that what we know and avoid things that are less known or outside of our control. Therefore, researchers may be hesitant to use samples collected at countries, but even from other institutes within the same country. 

In other cases, researchers may find it difficult to grasp the value of a collection for their type of research. Insufficient experience with using existing collections can create a higher threshold to actually reach out to a biobank. Also, for more fundamental research fields it might be hard to imagine how clinical patient samples would be of added value.  

Even when researchers are ready to apply for samples and data, expectations on the samples and data a biobank offers may result in a mismatch. In fact, this is said to occur in 80% of applications (source: ISBER). Reasons for this are a misfit in patient population, sample processing or available data. In other cases, researchers have unrealistic expectations on the availability or volume of certain samples. As a result, researchers often start new prospective collections, while samples remain available in existing biobanks. 

ISBER Annual Meeting workshop outcomes 

At the recent ISBER Annual Meeting 2023 in Seattle, a workshop was hosted on stimulating the use of existing collections. ISBER is an international platform for biobanks that brings together and supports researchers worldwide. During the workshop small groups with people from diverse backgrounds were challenged to come up with new, creative ideas. The result was a list of at least 20 ways to stimulate biobank use. And we are excited to share them with you! 

Top 4 tips

• Share examples and success stories: show the results and impact of research with samples and data from your cohort or biobank. 

• Introduce your cohort or biobank to researchers in your main target groups with a pitch or roadshow. 

• Word of mouth is super effective; actively invite researchers to talk about their research and the cohort or biobank.  

• Engage in expectation management: be open about timelines, available samples and data, the application process and waiting times. 

Bonus tip

The power of advertising is to keep telling about the collection and to repeat this when you can. On average, people need to hear something 7 to even up to 20 times in order to consider using samples and data from your collection (4,5). 

More tips on sustainable biobanking

Visibility 

• Make visible what is available; share number of samples available, explain about the disease state, inform about therapy (yes/no) and share realistic volumes and quantities per sample type;  
• Create a PowerPoint slide with information about your cohort or biobank and add it to presentations being held at scientific conferences;  
• Gaining trust is important, show the experts behind the cohort or biobank. A ‘familiar face’ connected to the collection helps with branding; 
• Use available online catalogues to increase your visibility; 
• Refer to the cohort or biobank on relevant national and international websites; 
• Provide a clear invitation to action on your website/flyers. For example, show how to apply and encourage researchers to reach out; 

Scientist engagement  

• Principle Investigators are the best promoters of your collection. Maintain a warm relationship to encourage them to tell others about the cohort or biobank;  
• Find ways to get in touch with researchers. Try to get involved early in the process of an application;  
• Discuss the benefits of a retrospective study; retrospective studies generally cost less and take less time to initiate than prospective studies.  
• Promote existing collections as a perfect way to work on a Proof of Concept. This provides an accessible way to get acquainted with a collection. Once researchers have worked with you, they are likely to come back; 
• Put ‘Old’ samples in perspective. Maybe certain materials were originally collected for long term storage and don’t have to be considered “old”; 

Publications 

• Create a clear and unambiguous way to refer to your cohort in articles by drawing up a Publication Policy; 
• It often takes a long time before research is actually published. It pays off to ask researchers about the progress and prospects of an article after a while;  

Grants  

• Keep an eye on grant opportunities and share them publicly if there are calls that can help researchers make use of your collection (or send a personal email);  
• See if there are ways to intensify secondary use for new studies through grant providers by, for example, issuing a targeted call;  
• Grant providers should include secondary use of samples as a pre-condition for certain calls. 

More information and contact

If you would like more information about the visibility or use of your collection, please contact the Cohort and Biobank Coordination Hub ([email protected]).