"Strengthening BBMRI.it" (a project that is funded by the PNRR, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan), aims to strengthen the already extensive network of Italian biobanks that are part of the BBMRI.it Research Infrastructure, which have been selected by the Minister of University and Research among the priority Research Infrastructures according to the National Plan for Research Infrastructures 2021-2027-PNIR. 

Research biobanks are essential infrastructures for the collection and storage of human biological samples and relevant data in a correct and standardized manner. To address this challenge, the European Union and Member States have funded a specific Research Infrastructure, the BBMRI. Italy contributes with 97 biobanks that participate in the national node BBMRI.it, 52 of which are included by the European hub, BBMRI-ERIC.

Distributed throughout Italy, the BBMRI.it Infrastructure offers its support and access to samples from biobanks through a website, a Help Desk and Common Services in the IT (Common Service IT), qualitative (Common Service Quality) and ethical-legal-social (Common Service ELSI) fields.

The PNRR project "Strengthening BBMRI.it" aims to enhance the digital skills of biobanks, improving the visibility of biological resources available in the European and national catalogue, while also supporting the development of new infrastructure nodes. Taking advantage of PNRR investments and building on knowledge developed thus far by BBMRI.it, new highly specialized biobanks have been created for specific collections (organoids, microbiome, induced pluripotent stem cells and adult progenitor cells).

The Italian Network of Core Facilities (NICo) will offer its expertise to enhance the biological samples made available by the BBMRI.it network through sample characterisation activities.

The project provides for the strengthening of the ELSI Common Service (Ethical-Legal-Societal Issues) and the IT Common Service, and a Work Package dedicated to the correct standardization and improvement of the usability of the data related to the samples (FAIR principles), a better and more efficient access to the data themselves.

The project also includes the publication of calls for funding to support sample characterization activities at biobanks using advanced technologies and to promote the harmonisation
of sample analysis procedures (HarmoNICo).

Among the new generation biobanks established within the project, the CIBIO Department of
UniTrento created the IRBIO biobank, containing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and bio-fluids for the study of extracellular vesicles (EV).

• Start date: 1 November 2022
• End date: 30 April 2026

CNR Napoli

• IEOS (lead) – Centre for Experimental Endocrinology and Oncology
• ITB – Institute for Biomedical Technologies
• IGB – Institute of Genetics and Biophysics "A. Buzzati Traverso"

University of Trento

• DiCIBIO – Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology

University of Verona

• ARC-Net – Cancer Research Centre

University of Bologna

• DIMEC – Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences

University of Napoli “Federico II”

• DB – Department of Biology
• DISMET – Department of Translational Medical Sciences
• DF – Department of Pharmacy