The 2025 edition of Europe Biobank Week (EBW), organised by BBMRI-ERIC (European Research Infrastructure for Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources in Health and Life Sciences) and ESBB (the European, African and Middle Eastern Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking), will take place in Bologna from 13 to 16 May at the Bologna Congress Center. This key event, which brings together the global community of scientists and technologists working to advance biobanks, will this year focus on the crucial role of computing resources and services for health data management and analysis. ICSC – Italian Research Centre on HPC, Big Data and Quantum Computing will also take part in the congress. At the opening ceremony on 14 May, ICSC and BBMRI-ERIC will sign a cooperation agreement within the EOSC Federation framework, aiming to strengthen Europe’s infrastructure and expand its capacity for managing health data services.
EBW 2025 will host sessions showcasing the latest developments that represent the increasing importance of biobanking for human, environmental and animal health. The congress welcome over 700 delegates, including 45 sponsors, to embed the congress at the most influential biobanking event of the year. Particularly amongst research infrastructures, EBW is unique in size and scale for bringing together researchers, biobank staff, institutions and industry who engage in high-quality scientific sessions.
Prof. Jens K. Habermann, BBMRI-ERIC Director General, and Roland Leiminger, ESBB President, have led the joint organising committee.
Habermann shares:
“EBW is the unique place for our biobanking community to build, maintain and intensify collaborations with academic and industry partners, citizens and policy makers while learning about newest developments and discussing future directions. I am very much looking forward to this wide thematic portfolio of workshops, session and podium discussion and – last but not least – the extensive networking possibilities.”
Leiminger agrees:
“I am delighted to welcome all participants to EBW25 – the central meeting place for the international biobanking community. I look forward to time with colleagues who are full of scientific passion, knowledge and inspiration that furthers development of this fascinating field. The future of biobanks is in our hands – let’s be the creators of this future!”
This year’s congress is hosted by BBMRI Italy. Professor Marialuisa Lavitrano has led the local organising committee with the strong involvement of the Italian biobanking community. Prof. Lavitrano contributes:
“We are honored to welcome the global biobanking community to Italy for Europe Biobank Week 2025. This congress offers an unparalleled platform for biobankers, healthcare professionals, academic experts and industry leaders to connect, collaborate, and share cutting-edge research and innovations.
“Italy is proud to showcase the latest scientific advancements in biobanking, which reflect our nation’s commitment to leadership in scientific excellence and international collaboration.”
High capacity data processing and storage of sensitive health data is a major topic of the congress. Prof. Zoccoli, President of the ICSC – Italy’s National High-Performance Computing, Big Data and Quantum Computing Research Centre – will be an integral part of the opening ceremony. BBMRI-ERIC and the ICSC are founding Nodes of the EOSC Federation. In build up stage, the Federation links data repositories and services that will be instrumental for Open Science to progress in Europe. This early cross Node collaboration is significant, as Prof. Jens K. Habermann explains:
“We are delighted to welcome the ICSC at EBW25. Cooperation between ICSC and BBMRI will enable the widest possible access to scientific communities and exchange of knowledge and experience.
“Better data management and sharing with ICSC and BBMRI users will also provide capacity for secure and trusted data processing environments for sensitive health data. The result will enable new collaborative approaches at larger scale.”
Prof. Zoccoli adds:
“It is a real pleasure to take part in this prestigious congress, which brings together the entire scientific community grappling with the crucial challenge represented by the exploitation of biological and medical data for the study and treatment of diseases. This is a field where the ICSC National Center is already making significant contributions, which highlight the strategic choices made by the Italian Ministry of University and Research under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
“Therefore, we look forward to close cooperation between ICSC and BBMRI—built on and expanding the principles of sharing and collaboration at the heart of the EOSC initiative—will further strengthen Europe’s capacity to manage health data and develop innovative analytical tools, always in full compliance with privacy and EU regulations.”
Full press release here
View the full EBW 2025 program: https://www.europebiobankweek.eu/full-programme/
