Interview with BBMRI.at project manager Cornelia Stumptner about news in BBMRI.at and other projects
As project manager of the Austrian hub of the European Biobanking Research Infrastructure BBMRI.at, located in the ZWT, Cornelia Stumptner contributes to the generation of internationally recognized standards for sample quality management. In an interview, she explains why she would have liked to work ‘underground’ and why she equates work with fun.
By linking BBMRI.at to current international projects, BBMRI.at is always up to date when it comes to research using biobanked samples and data. What are you working on right now?
“Among other things, we work on a further international standards for human samples for the analysis of microbiome DNA. The microbiome includes the all microorganisms and viruses that occur in a certain habitat, including their biomolecules such as DNA or proteins. I coordinate the development of this worldwide ISO standard within the ISO Technical Committee. Since the microbiome field is developing very dynamically, there is a great need for such a standard.
In addition, we submitted together with an international consortium, an EU project on the same topic. Under the title MICROBE, an operating plan for microbiome biobanking infrastructures is to be developed – so for the collection, processing, storage and use of microbiome samples in research cooperation. The focus is on the development of innovative technological approaches for sample collection and storage and the development of quality guidelines for microbiome samples from various sources such as soil, water or plants. We work in an international consortium and contribute our expertise in handling samples/data, quality standards and biobanking infrastructure.
In addition, digital pathology is another exciting area in which we are currently active. […]”
