Meet the TI BBD

The vision of the translational infrastructure “Bioresources, Biodata and Digital Health (TI BBD)” is to enable a cross-cutting standardisation of biomedical data and interoperability of database systems as well as improved access to relevant biosamples, (medical) analysis data or digital tools and methods within the DZIF.

We, the members of the TI BBD, would like to give you an insight into our services in general and provide you with detailed information about different data management topics. Therefore we are organising an online information event on May 2nd 2023, 9-11am.

9-10am: Presentation of TI BBD services, such as the new DZIF IT platform including the Data & Tools-Hub and DZIF intranet and how we can support you with your FlexFunds applications, followed by Q&A session

10-11am: Workshop in a world café format on data management. After an introductory presentation you can participate in Breakout-Sessions on the following selectable topics:

DZIF core data set / metadata repository (MDR)

A core data set represents a set of structured, pre-defined data elements to describe specific items or procedures, e.g. biomaterials, pathogens, various study types, etc. The TI BBD is establishing a DZIF core data set specifically tailored to the requirements in infection research to standardize data collection and thus support harmonization across DZIF studies. Additionally, a mapping to international terminology and standards is given. The metadata describing respective data elements and its inter-relations is being specified and catalogued in the new DZIF Metadata Repository, which will be introduced here.

DZIF Central Biosample Register (DZIF-ZBR)

Biosamples and corresponding medical data are of high value for translational research at the DZIF. The TI BBD is responsible for the DZIF Central Biosample Register (DZIF-ZBR) to strengthen the visibility of biosamples available for specific research questions across the decentralized DZIF storage locations. The DZIF-ZBR works as a kind of catalogue to consolidate biosample data from various DZIF studies and partner sites, making it a valuable data harmonization instrument. Through individual search queries it is an effective project planning tool for analytical studies with biosample involvement.

Pathogen data and databases

The TI BBD offers three different databases for the integration of pathogen-related data and metadata. Raw data, assemblies and metadata can be submitted to the OMICs database “Bacterial assemblies & Metagenomics”. The OMICs database will also allow the integration of mass spectrometry data in the future. The EnteroBase database was recently established for genome sequences of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and will be extended in the future to include ESKAPE bacteria and other DZIF relevant pathogens. BacDive is the worldwide largest database for standardized bacterial information and is currently being expanded to include phenotypic predictions such as AMR.

Epidemiological data

The TI BBD helps DZIF researcher in the generation and analyses of epidemiological data by supporting in evidence synthesis (e.g. systematic reviews & meta-analyses), dynamic modelling analyses and epidemiological study design and analyses. It also offers repositories for individual participant study data via “serohub.net”, a platform for seroprevalence studies on SARS-CoV-2.

Ethics and informed consent

Every study design must take into consideration ethical aspects and responsible data management, applicable throughout and beyond the study’s duration. The TI BBD supports you to navigate ethics-related requirements and documentation and consults with respect to the (re-)usability and sharing of biosamples and data by e.g. providing respective master templates. 

Questions? email us

The event is free of charge. Please register using the form below to help us organise the event.

We look forward to seeing you on May 2nd!