Biopreservation and Biobanking is the first journal to provide a unifying forum for the peer-reviewed communication of recent advances in the emerging and evolving field of biospecimen procurement, processing, preservation and banking, distribution, and use. The Journal publishes a range of original research, review and special feature articles focusing on current challenges and problems in biopreservation, and advances in methods to address these issues related to the processing of macromolecules, cells, and tissues for research. Ideas and practical solutions are discussed relevant to improved quality, efficiency, and sustainability of biobanks/repositories, as well as their management, operation and oversight. The journal also welcomes articles that explore the ethical, legal, and societal considerations surrounding biobanking and biorepository governance and operation. Finally, the Journal highlights the Emerging Markets and Technologies that are influencing biobanks and their impact on society. The solutions presented here are anticipated to help drive innovation within the biobank community.
Submitted manuscripts should present novel and/or broadly important findings or concepts that are influential to the field of biopreservation and biobanking. Papers that simply describe the profile of a biobank, it’s holdings and/or distribution efforts and are not supported by in-depth research data or novel findings or concepts that are more broadly applicable to other biobanks are not generally deemed acceptable for publication in the journal.
Biopreservation and Biobanking coverage includes:
Biospecimen preservation and handling topics including but not limited to:
Biospecimen preservation including the evaluation of pre-analytic variables and methods validation
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of biopreservation
Mechanisms of cryoinjury and its prevention during cooling and warming processes
Cryopreservation of living cells, tissues, and organs
Novel biopreservation technologies
Optimization protocols for storage, biopackaging and transport of biospecimens
Freezing and vitrification mechanisms and their applications in biopreservation
Stem cell banking
Novel methodologies for gamete cryopreservation to support species conservation
Organoid systems
Natural systems models
Biobank operations topics including but not limited to:
Best practices for biobanking, including the collection, storage, distribution, and use of specimens and associated data
Biobanking standards, training and accreditation programs
Biobanking informatics systems
Artificial intelligence in biobanking
Biobanking automation technologies
Biobanking quality assurance and control
Quality and risk management for biobanking
Biobanking disaster preparedness
Biobanking culling or decommissioning strategies
Governance, management, and oversight of biobanks/biorepository operations
Academic, industry and non-profit collaborations related to biobanking
Biobank metrics and evaluation
Biobank business planning, sustainability and economics
Biosafety
Ethical/legal/regulatory considerations/societal implications related to biobanking and biospecimen research including but not limited to:
Biospecimen and data sharing
Secondary use of biospecimens and associated data
Privacy and confidentiality
Cultural considerations
Community engagement
Informed consent
Return of research results
Benefit sharing
Biopreservation and Biobanking is under the editorial leadership of Editor-in-Chief Marianna Bledsoe, MA; Deputy Editors Dayong Gao, PhD, Peter Watson, MB B. Chir FRCPC, and Carol Weil, JD; European Editor William Mathieson, PhD; and Asian Editor Junmei Zhou, MD, PhD; and other leading investigators.
Audience: Biobankers, biological preservation scientists, cell biologists, pathologists, researchers utilizing biospecimens for research on a wide variety of conditions and diseases, ethicists and policy makers, among others.
