Pär SegerdahlBiomedical research increasingly often uses biological material and information collected in biobanks. In order for a biobank to work efficiently, it is important not only that the biological material is stored well. The material must also be made available to science so that researchers easily and responsibly can share samples and information.

Creating such a biobank is a huge effort. Researchers and clinicians who collect bioresources might even be reluctant to make the biobank openly available. Why make it easy for others to access to your biobank if they do not give you any recognition?

In an article in the Journal of Community Genetics, Heidi C. Howard and Deborah Mascalzoni, among others, discuss a system that would make it more attractive to develop well-functioning biobanks. It is a system for rewarding researchers and clinicians who create high quality bioresources by making their work properly acknowledged.

The system, presented in the article, is called the Bioresource Research Impact Factor (BRIF). If I understand it, the system may work the following way. A biobank is described in a permanent “marker” article published in a specific bioresource journal. Researchers who use the biobank then quote the article in their publications and funding grants. In this way, you can count citations of bioresources as you count citations of research articles.

The article also describes the results of a study of stakeholders’ awareness of BRIF, as well as an ethical analysis of how BRIF can contribute to more responsible biobanking.

If you are building a biobank, read the article and learn more about BRIF!

Pär Segerdahl

Howard, H.C., Mascalzoni, D., Mabile, L. et al. “How to responsibly acknowledge research work in the era of big data and biobanks: ethical aspects of the Bioresource Research Impact Factor (BRIF).” J Community Genet (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-017-0332-6

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