The school was held on the basis of Institute of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy of the Smolensk State Medical Academy. What distinguished this school from the previous ones was the fact it was the first specialized school dedicated to biobanking in microbiology.

Institute of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy of the Smolensk State Medical Academy is a leading research institute in the field of clinical microbiology and antibiotic resistance of microorganisms. For 25 years it has been helping specialists monitor the antibiotic resistance of pathogens of both out-of-hospital and hospital infections in Russia. In 2022, a modern automated biobank developed by Iconic was introduced on the basis of the institute.

The school was attended by more than 20 participants from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladivostok, Kazan, Samara, Novosibirsk and Voronezh. Among them were both microbiologists and specialists of related fields.

Valuable knowledge, skills and experience of organization and work of biobank were shared by its representatives. The participants were particularly interested in lectures by I. S. Azizov on the specifics of adapting the automated system of the biobank to current legislation in the field of PBA III-IV pathogenicity groups. M.V. Edelstein conducted a sightseeing tour of the institute and during his lecture told about the history of medical microbiology in Russia and in the world. A. V. Lyamin (SamSMU) presented a report on the peculiarities of legislation concerning the status of medical microbiologists and their activities in Russia.

National Association of Biobank and Biobanking Specialists (NASBio) provided information support for the event, and its representatives gave lectures and reports on both general issues of biobanking and the specifics of organization and support of microbial biobanks. A. I. Muraviev presented an extensive introductory lecture on the activities of biobanks in Russia and in the world, current directions of development and problems in the field of biobanking. A.S. Glotov told about ethical and legal aspects of biobanking. A series of lectures were devoted to the issues of standardization and quality management (speakers A.L. Borisova, Yu.A. Nasykhova).

The guests of the school were actively involved in discussions and shared their work experience.

Each day of the school was accompanied by practical training. The participants had an opportunity to practice microorganism cultivation, identification using MALDI mass spectrometry, and to learn the peculiarities of working with SBS format cryotubes.

Many of the participants noted they received valuable knowledge and skills to apply in their work.

The discussions highlighted the problem of low awareness of biobanking among microbiologists. In response, NASBio plans to hold more schools in rare and highly specialized areas. These events will help to deepen the knowledge of specialists, share experiences and learn new technologies for efficient storage and management of biological samples.

At the end of the three-day training course, a test was conducted, which proved successful for all participants, and the top three were given copies of the book “Biobanking. A National Guide.” All trainees received NASBio certificates of completion.

The general sponsor of the school was Quadros-Bio – the largest Russian distributor of laboratory equipment and consumables, offering modern integrated solutions in the field of biobanking, molecular genetics, proteomics, cell technologies, microscopy, agri-genomics and laboratory automation (https://qvadrosbio.ru/).

 

Authors: A. Kuzmenkov, A. Borisova