Research is the basic currency for advancing public health developments. The clinical practices of today were the research of yesterday. The difficulty in introducing research into clinical practice requires intensive validation and often this has proven difficult due to a lack of adequate quality samples and data.
The concept of biobanking addresses this critical failing by ensuring quality samples and data and therefore ensuring quality research results that can be replicated, validated and implemented ensuring a quicker and more economical path to precision health care.
Precision medicine which stratifies diagnostics, prognosis and therapy selection has made advances thanks to the availability of genetic material from patients and individuals. These advances, for the most part, address first world populations. This is because the lack of biological material from the global community, particularly developing countries has meant that often solutions that work for one population will not work for another.
The availability of samples and data from developing countries would address this gap and help improve the development of precision medicine for those populations. It would also provide sustainable advancement of health care through equitable scientific research and development of diagnostics and therapy in these previously excluded nations.
Europe has recognised the value of biobanking for research and development, funding the initial phrase of BBMRI, a biobank infrastructure which became a legal European Research Infrastructure (ERIC) in 2013. BBMRI founder Professor Kurt Zatloukal is supporting the initiative to create the first Bangladesh biobank and research facility at BSSMU that will strengthen academic scientific research in developing countries and ensure long-term clinical research collaboration globally in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure inclusiveness in science at the global level.
Our proposal for a centralised biobank will facilitate and promote international collaborations but with the added value of enhancing local research activity. To this end, we propose the integrated development of a dedicated research core facility to support the biobank and research activity. Research core facilities will also operate centralized shared resources providing the ability to enhance the value of the samples and increase the data available to the biobank samples but also to provide access to technology and services, as well as expert consultation to scientific and clinical investigators.
The aim of this initiative is that a world-class biobank designed by global leaders will attract the international academic and pharma industries to collaborate with BSMMU immediately. These collaborations will help develop research capacities/capabilities in BSMMU, local researchers can receive necessary training abroad and return to BSMMU to complete their research. There is no accredited biobank in Bangladesh at the moment.
BSMMU is the largest postgraduate medical institution in Bangladesh with a massive 2650 beds hospital, 8 faculties, 68 departments and about 500 faculty members.
There are several researchers at BSMMU, who have stored biomaterials for individual projects, and collaborate with international universities through this. But invariably research activity takes place at the partner universities, not at BSMMU.
The initiave will be spearheaded by Bangladeshi cancer researcher at University College Dublin Ireland (Dr. Arman Rahman). Three key members of this initiative in Dhaka are Prof. Laila Banu, head of Genetics and Molecular Biology and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy, Prof. Sayedur Rahman, head of Pharmacology, and Prof. Sajol Banarjee, UGC professor and professor of Cardiology who will look after the development of such a facility at BSMMU.
Conclusions:
BSSMU is reaching out to international development partners for funding for the biobank development in Bangladesh.
Initially we are seeking a budget of 3-4 million euro for this project.
As part of its commitment, BSMMU will provide all basic building infrastructure requirements for the facility.
We have already reached out to several other research institutions in Bangladesh so that they can be part of the biobank development process, the aim is to develop a wider user-base for the biobank inside the country.
Moreover, we will reach out to other neighbouring countries as well, so that a biobank can be beneficial for the southeast Asian region.
It is our belief that Biobank with a dedicated research facility will increase the current research capacity not only in Bangladesh, but throughout the region as a whole.
AGENDA
10.00 - 10.10am: Welcome and introduction
Declan Kirrane, Chairman, Science Summit at United Nations General Assembly(SSUNGA77), Managing Director, Africa-Europe Science Collaboration and Innovation Platform.
10.10 am - 10.20 am: Health infrastructure of Bangladesh: opportunities for BSSMU to lead translational research in the region
Prof. Md. Sharfuddin Ahmed, Vice-Chancellor, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
10.20 am - 10.35 am: The Role of Biobank in the development of translational research
Dr. Arman Rahman, Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, UCD, Ireland
10.35 am - 10.50 am: Biobank in Bangladesh: Regional interest and scopes for Bhutan
Dr. Sonam Chhoden R, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan, Bhutan
10.50 am - 11.05 am: Biobanking and regional health challenges
Prof. Dr. Sailesh Prdhan, Professor, Department of Pathology, Kathmandu Medical College, Nepal
11.05 am - 11.20 am: The importance of integrating biobank and biomedical research. Prof. Jae Youl Cho, Director, Research Institute of Biomolecule Control, and Professor, Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea
11.20 am - 11.30 am Current research infrastructure at BSSMU, how a biobank can improve current research practice
Prof. Laila Anjuman Banu, Professor of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Chairman, Department of Anatomy, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
11.30 am - 11.45 am: Biobank: Integrating clinical research
Prof. Dr. Sajal Krishna Banerjee, Professor, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
11.45 am - 12.00 pm: Ethics and legal framework of Bangladeshi/south Asian law for biobanking
Prof. Md. Sayedur Rahman, Professor, and Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
