5 reasons to take the Biobanking MOOC

If you want to know more about these biobanks, here are 5 reasons to follow this MOOC:

Reason n°1 : You will understand what a biobank is and how it allows to store high-quality biological samples available to researchers and health companies.

In times of health crisis such as Ebola or COVID-29, they play an essential role in sharing information and developing suitable diagnostic methods, treatments and vaccines.

Reason n°2 : You will learn how the conservation of high quality samples that can be used over a very long term requires exemplary organization

This organization is a chain going from sampling, to transport, to the method of conservation, and very long-term storage, and to the documentation which allows them to be identified. Some practical examples are detailed in this course.

Reason n°3 : You will become familiar with the standards that must be respected at each stage.

These standards are international and ensure the supply of quality samples to customers around the world. The conservation of microbes requires the implementation of biosafety and biosecurity rules, the fundamental principles of which you will be able to identify thanks to this training: from prevention measures to risk management protocols including the notions of evaluation of the biological risk.

Reason n°4 : You will discover the ethical questions posed by the conservation of samples, particularly human ones.

The conservation of biological and particularly human samples poses major ethical problems requiring strict international regulations. The samples, associated with personal data, must be subject to specific legal treatment since it is not possible to predict what the nature or purposes of the research will be in the future, which creates a difficulty of collection of objective consent. These ethical questions must be respected even in times of health crisis.

Reason n°5 : You will know how biobanks are linked together throughout the world.

This training will present the articulation of biobanks with each other at the national and international level, how they interact to operate in a network and ensure the governance and management of biological resources.

To find out more and register, click here.
Institut Pasteur
Course starts: 4 March 2025
Enrollment deadline: 3 March 2026

This course is part of the Institut Pasteur's Digital Diploma in Infectious Diseases (DNM2IP).