About the project
The German Biobank Network (GBN) is the central infrastructure of academic biobanks in Germany. It brings together biobanks at university hospitals, research centres and other institutions that collect human biosamples, store them in a quality-assured manner and make them available for biomedical research. The GBN thus provides researchers with cross-site access to high-quality sample material and the associated data - an indispensable resource for translational research and the development of new therapies.
Today's network emerged from two closely linked structures: the German Biobank Node (GBN) as the coordinating umbrella organisation and national "node" of the European biobank network BBMRI-ERIC and the German Biobank Alliance (GBA), which comprised the cooperating biobanks. On 1 July 2025, both structures were united under the name German Biobank Network (GBN) and the office was anchored in the Network University Medicine (NUM).
Today's GBN was created in 2025 from the merger of the German Biobank Node (GBN) and the German Biobank Alliance (GBA).
The GBN, which is based at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, began its work in 2014 - funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, now BMFTR). Initially launched as a concept phase, it took over the coordination of the GBA three years later.
Since then, GBN has worked with biobanks throughout Germany to implement quality standards, train biobank employees and regularly monitor sample quality and processes through round robin tests in collaboration with the BioMaterialBank Heidelberg (BMBH), the Integrated Biobank Jena (IBBJ) and the BioBank Dresden (BBD). GBN also prepares the biobanks for accreditation according to DIN EN ISO 20387 for biobanking with an internal audit programme.
Researchers benefit from the "Sample Locator" (samplelocator.bbmri.de), an online tool for searching and requesting biosamples and data across multiple locations. In cooperation with the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), the Sample Locator has already been further developed and integrated into a European federated platform. This is operated by the BBMRI-ERIC biobank network, of which GBN has been the "National Node" since its foundation.
Today, GBN is a central partner that supports biomedical research in Germany and Europe with quality-assured biosamples, networked infrastructures and common standards.
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Highlights
A key success is the establishment of a Germany-wide biobank network that offers researchers access to quality-assured samples and the associated data. Through the introduction of uniform quality standards, continuous training and a networked IT infrastructure, biosamples can be securely stored, precisely documented and efficiently retrieved in the long term. Researchers benefit in particular from a high level of service orientation and expert advice when planning and conducting studies.
Watch the following film to find out more about how collaboration with professional biobanks drives research forward.