Dr. Eleni Fthenou

Scientist

Qatar Precision Health Institute

Design and Manage a Sustainable Biobank for Precision Health 

Abstract:

The role of biobanks in advancing precision health initiatives has become increasingly prominent as the global healthcare paradigm shifts away from a universal approach towards more individualized strategies. Biobanks, which provide critical biological samples and associated data for research, are now considered essential resources. However, establishing and maintaining a biobank involves a complex array of requirements, including meticulous planning, robust infrastructure, and sophisticated analytical platforms, all of which must be designed to support a variety of end applications. This session aims to deliver a strategic overview on the development of a sustainable biobank. It will cover fundamental aspects such as the necessary resources, infrastructural components, and the ethical and regulatory frameworks required. Additionally, it will address stakeholder engagement and operational resilience. Emphasis will be placed on the quality standards needed to ensure that biobank services are optimally equipped to facilitate innovative research and contribute to advancements in health interventions with the potential for significant future impact.

Biography:

Eleni Fthenou received her PhD from the Medical School of the University of Crete, Greece in 2007 and her BSc in Genetics (Immunology) from the University of Aberdeen in UK in 2003. She has worked at the Department of Health Research Governance at the Ministry of Public Health in Qatar, and she was highly involved in the development of Qatar’s national policies, regulations, and guidelines of health research for a safe and innovative research ecosystem in the country. She has also worked as a scientist at the Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain, focusing her research on molecular epidemiology and the exposome. She was a Manager of the Clinical Nutrition and Epidemiology of Diseases Laboratory, at the Department of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece, designing and developing the biobank for the first mother-child cohort (Rhea study) in Greece. Currently she holds the position of Scientist at Qatar Precision Health Institute focusing on the science of biobanking committed to the promotion of research in precision health, environmental epidemiology, and the translation of research findings into policy. She has participated in different grants from Qatar National Research Priorities as well as European and US projects such as, NewGeneris, EnvironGenomarkers, HiWate, FAMRI and others. She is the Lead PI of the Qatari Birth Cohort (QBiC) study in Qatar and her main research interest is in gene-environment interactions and molecular epidemiology.