title: [The biobank of the German National Cohort as a resource for epidemiologic research].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The linkage of high-quality biosamples with detailed data from medical examinations, questionnaires and interviews offers great opportunities for research. This is particularly true for large-scale prospective epidemiological studies with long observation periods, like the German National Cohort (GNC).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The modalities of collecting, processing and storing biosamples of high quality and with a high throughput, as well as ethical aspects are described using the GNC as an example.
  
  
  METHODS
  For the GNC, 200,000 randomly selected adults will be recruited by 18 study centres and will be followed up for 20-30 years. In addition to the extensive basic examination protocol, followed by reassessment examinations and follow-up questionnaires, the biorepository is a cornerstone of the GNC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The GNC biorepository will comprise more than 20 million aliquots of plasma, serum, erythrocytes, lymphocytes, urine, saliva, nasal swabs and stool. Preanalytics and aliquoting are performed locally in the study centres and are highly standardised and extensively automated. All samples are stored at - 80 and - 180 °C, respectively. A laboratory information system documents all processing steps and storage locations. Access to data and biosamples will be granted to researchers within and outside Germany after completion of the baseline recruitment (i.e. from 2018 onwards).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Experience with already existing epidemiological biobanks shows impressive results, especially with regard to genetic research, as well as post-genomics (e.g. transcriptomics, metabolomics, epigenomics). Previous success stories explain the strongly increased demand for data and biosamples from the population. Thus the GNC will provide an important resource for biomedical research in the future.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Epidemiologie II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Deutschland. wichmann@helmholtz-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: H-Erich
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Wichmann
authors.affiliation: Institut für Epidemiologie II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hörlein
authors.affiliation: BIPS-Leibniz-Institut für Präventionsforschung und Epidemiologie, Bremen, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ahrens
authors.affiliation: Institut für Klinische Chemie und Laboratoriumsmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Greifswald, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nauck
mesh_terms: D018070:Biological Specimen Banks / Q000458:organization & administration*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002984:Clinical Laboratory Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration; D015331:Cohort Studies; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000458:organization & administration; D015340:Epidemiologic Research Design; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods; D038622:Internationality; D008498:Medical Record Linkage / Q000379:methods; D017146:Models, Organizational; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000592:standards*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: Biobank; Biorepository; Epidemiology; Preanalytics; Prospective study