BioPark supports Biobanking in the Medical Curriculum

What is a biobank and what priority do they have in research, precision medicine and clinical diagnostics? These questions have remained largely unanswered in medical training until now. With the course “Precision Medicine International (eduBRoTHER)”, which is commencing in the winter semester 2020/21 as a common teaching program at the universities in Regensburg and Pilsen, medical students receive a decided insight into this theme for the first time.

Today biobanking and precision medicine contain complex and multidisciplinary specialty fields in medicine, which with rapid development have the ability to speed up diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Here biomarkers in fact play a decisive role in being able to develop individual tailor-made therapy schemes for patients. The identification of new disease subtype-specific genes and biomarkers results through means of modern technologies in molecular biology and imaging processes. Biobanks in this field are a decisive instrument in which a large number of samples and data are archived for researching new biomarkers.

“The new course Precision Medicine International gives a compact insight into the complex rapidly developing interdisciplinary questions posed in this field of specialty”, explained Prof. Dr. Brochhausen-Delius from the Institute for Pathology at the University of Regensburg. He coordinates the project BRoTHER, a network of biobanks funded across borders by the Bavarian-Czech Tertiary Institution Agency. The course pursues use of comprehensive imaging, which combines modern methods of digital teaching with practical exercises in the laboratory. “Furthermore with the participation of BioPark Regensburg GmbH the course extends an important bridge between academia and industry with a strong link to biotechnology”, said BioPark CEO Dr. Thomas Diefenthal. “The project also offers the opportunity for the networks in both technology regions of Regensburg and Pilsen to get to know each other better. And the participants have advantages through this with technology transfer in the border region of Bavaria and the Czech Republic”, expanded BioPark Project Manager Healthcare, Dr. Ilja Hagen.

Lecturers from the fields of pathology, clinical chemistry, laboratory medicine, cancer research and health care give the students a diverse insight into the theme of biobanking. Cooperation with the Comprehensive Cancer Center Upper Palatinate and BioPark Regensburg facilitate in addition access to close-to-practice examples of biobanking and precision medicine in research and industry.