2009 © Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM
Biobanking & Biomarkers
FIMM has a unique position in the Finnish biobanking efforts, due to its high impact technology platforms and its partner institutes the National Public Health Institute (THL) and Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS). THL has a world-wide reputation in molecular epidemiology, including, but not limited to, human genetics. THL has six million biosamples (mostly serum and DNA) in its archives. HUS also has 4 million paraffin-embedded tissue blocks in its archive, and many important collections (with associated clinical data) are already available on tissue microarray (TMA) formats.
Providing state-of-the-art sample analysis technologies, FIMM is working with HUS and the University of Helsinki Department of Pathology to develop the tissue archives towards a more professional TMA core facility by directing FIMM resources to the preparation and reorganization of the pathological archives to better suit the needs of TMA based analysis. The serum collection of professor emeritus Ulf-Håkan Stenman, comprising of 211,000 serum samples from cancer patients with up to 10 year follow-up, will be operationally linked to the TMA core facility.
Centralized biobanking will be of increasing national importance and requires new infrastructures which are, for the most part, currently lacking in Finland. FIMM will collaborate with its partner institutions to create specialized biobanks. FIMM is working with THL, HUS and Folkhälsan to develop a professional biobanking setup, for both retrospective sample storage and prospective sample collection, with matching clinical and follow-up information. The harmonisation of the processes will be done in collaboration with other national biobanks as well as taking into account the developments at EU level.
Finally, without matching molecular profiling and biomarker discovery/development activity, biobanks will remain just "storage" facilities. Therefore this effort will also develop strong links with groups involved in binder and assay development, including diagnostic research. A Cancer Biomarker Centre is being built at FIMM, combining unique bioinformatics for target identification, immunoassay development and molecular pathology collaborations.