In recent years, the need for controlling the ‘secondary use’ of human biospecimens for research purposes at the NKI became more apparent. To ensure human material is used properly and efficiently, especially in the case of scarce, valuable samples, a facility for use of NKI biobank materials was desired. Therefore, in 2011, the Core Facility Molecular Pathology & Biobanking (CFMPB) was founded.

The CFMPB facilitates the use of NKI biobank materials for translational research. For all research projects, in which the use of NKI biobank materials is proposed, the Core Facility has to be contacted by the researcher. The CFMPB confirms that the Translational Research Board approves the usage of the material, does the sample handling (logistics), generates derivative biospecimen samples, and stores scientific results. Currently the facility’s resources consist of a team of dedicated (lab) staff, dedicated lab space and equipment, and an in-house developed application and request tool.