Biobanking Definition

Biobanks are a new frontier for biomedical research and personal medicine that integrates bio-specimens (blood, DNA, tissue, biopsy specimens, etc.) with patient data such as genetic profiles, medical histories, and lifestyle information.

By combining biological tissue samples with genetic and historical patient information, researchers can investigate the fundamental mechanisms of diseases, develop better ways to predict susceptibility to particular illnesses, and find more targeted and innovative ways to treat them.

As medicine and information technologies continue to converge, biobanking offers the ability to study the complex interaction between genes, the environment and social factors. Biobanking, one element of the movement toward “information-based medicine,” is an essential tool if society is to translate new knowledge into new clinical practices, diagnostic techniques and preventative treatments.