Vision of the MedUni Vienna Biobank
The MedUni Vienna Biobank sees itself as a vital link between basic and clinical research, with the goal of advancing research into novel diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers as well as therapeutic strategies. This mission is fulfilled by supporting researchers in the processing, storage, and analysis of human tissue, cells, and fluids for academic research and clinical studies. Centrally located, the facility consists of collaborative projects embedded within various departments and clinical institutes of the Medical University of Vienna.
The biobank was established to bridge the gap between sample collection and analysis in large-scale prospective clinical studies at the Medical University of Vienna. Over recent years, the biobank project has been gradually but steadily expanded, now providing centralized storage for a significant number of researchers at the Vienna General Hospital (AKH Wien). Currently, the biobank manages more than 100 distinct collections, including blood and blood components, urine, stool, cells, nucleic acid and tissue samples, as well as a wide range of diagnostic reference materials such as cerebrospinal fluid, tissue, and various other biomaterials — all accessible under defined conditions.
A large proportion of these samples comes from carefully selected patients and participants in well-defined prospective clinical studies, while other samples originate from disease-specific collections contributed by patients at specialized outpatient clinics affiliated with the Vienna General Hospital.
Each prospective collection within the MedUni Vienna Biobank requires prior approval by the local ethics committee. The biobank management team is committed to supporting clinical staff in drafting appropriate biobank study protocols and application forms. Consent forms are meticulously tailored to include comprehensive information about the purpose and context of sample storage, along with the contact details of responsible personnel to be reached in case of an opt-out.
Given the limited availability of biological material, access must naturally be restricted to projects with a high likelihood of contributing to improved patient care and risk prediction. In such cases, an ad hoc committee — jointly appointed by the clinical partner and the MedUni Vienna Biobank — makes consensus-based decisions regarding access to (anonymized) clinical data and samples, in accordance with the principles of good scientific practice and the ethical standards of the Medical University of Vienna.