Last week BiKE organized its second annual Summerschool “Fundamentals of Biobanking and Cohort Research” in the UMCG. BiKE is the joint knowledge institute of the UMCG and LifeLines for biobank research. Nearly twenty participants from eight different countries came to Groningen for the course. Several departments of LifeLines have contributed to the Summerschool, e.g. LifeStore, team questionnaire development, legal affairs, and the Research Office. Additionally there were colleagues from the European Biobanking organization, biobanks from Nijmegen and Leiden, and researchers from Amsterdam and Groningen.

The participants were very enthusiastic, also about the LifeLines parts. The Summerschool underlines the prominent role of Groningen and LifeLines in the international biobank-research arena. We would like to thank all colleagues who have put in their effort for the Summerschool.

Bart Scheerder

Ronald Stolk