Special Issue - From Biobanks to the Clinic
Applied & Translational Genomics, Volume 3, Issue 2
2 Pages Posted: 1 Aug 2015 Last revised: 3 Sep 2015
Date Written: June 1, 2014
Abstract
In 2009, Time Magazine identified biobanks as one of the ten ideas changing the world. Today, with many of these infrastructures gradually achieving their recruitment objectives, current initiatives are focusing on the orderly translation of research knowledge into beneficial clinical applications. Indeed, whether it is through international collaboration aimed at increasing statistical power, or broader access to comprehensive data meant to better understand the role of human genomic variation in “complex disease aetiology and treatment”, biobank researchers wish to realize the full benefits for which participants have provided their data and samples. This Special Issue “From Biobanks to the Clinic” examines the ways in which biobanks are facilitating this translation. Although the aggregation of health-related data has become a pressing need in these projects, the collection and use of large quantities of health information create challenges for patient privacy. The authors highlight some of these challenges, including the problem of specific informed consent procedures. They explain that genomics should also focus on the benefits for society as a whole. In order to improve researcher–patient relationships, researchers could consider patients as partners, and acknowledge them as valuable contributors to genetic research. In this way, the authors hope that biobanks will foster translational practices, while protecting individual rights.
Keywords: Biobanks, Research, Clinic, Consent, Special Issue
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