On Tuesday 15 July, during the 2nd National Core Facilities Congress, a round table explored the synergies between the Italian Network of Core Facilities – N.I.Co. and the Italian network of biobanks, BBMRI.it. The meeting was attended by Valentina Adami, promoter of N.I.Co., and Marialuisa Lavitrano and Monica Forni, respectively BBMRI.it Coordinator and Quality Lead.
At the centre of the debate was the importance of a structured collaboration to guarantee the uniform characterisation of biological samples stored in biobanks according to high quality standards, thanks to the technical and technological support of Core Facilities. It was discussed how the recently signed agreement can facilitate shared procedures, common standards and greater interoperability between infrastructures. The initiative, which came about as part of the Italian NRRP project to strengthen the Italian biobanks’ network, Strengthening BBMRI.it, aims to tigthen the National biobanking community and improve researchers’ access to advanced analysis and characterisation services, to the benefit of biomedical research and the quality of the data collected.