We are pleased to announce the signing of a strategic collaboration agreement between BBMRI.it, the Italian Node of the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure, and ELIXIR-IT, the Italian Node of the European ELIXIR Infrastructure, dedicated to Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.
This strategic collaboration marks a significant milestone in advancing Italian biomedical research and opening new perspectives for the integrated analysis of biological “big data” and the development of precision medicine.
The Parties commit to advance the integrated analysis of biological “big data”, collected and characterized in biobanks, and to promote the sharing of specialized knowledge and expertise in leveraging bioinformatics and biobank resources as an indispensable tool for innovation in the field of precision medicine.
One of the primary objectives of the agreement is to foster the collaboration between the national biobank system and ELIXIR-IT Platforms, with a strong emphasis on ensuring security and control measures for accessing sensitive data used in precision medicine applications. Additionally, BBMRI.it and ELIXIR-IT will collaborate to implement shared access policies and develop interoperable infrastructures, in alignment with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) strategies. The partnership will also work towards promoting best practices in addressing ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) related to data sharing, particularly when handling human biological data.
The agreement, initially established for a duration of three years, encompass joint training activities and the signing of specific agreements to outline the operational modalities and conditions of the collaboration.
“This collaboration between BBMRI.it and ELIXIR-IT represents a significant opportunity to strengthen the competitiveness of italian scientific research and to contribute to the advancement of precision medicine, which is essential for ensuring the sustainability of healthcare systems at both the national and European levels” say Prof. Graziano Pesole, Head of the Italian Node of ELIXIR, and Prof. Marialuisa Lavitrano, Coordinator of the Italian Node of BBMRI.