Basic and applied research on pandemic pathogens requires access to the latter, ideally via a centralized curated state-of-the-art biorepository.
To follow a "One Health" approach, such a repository contains environmental, veterinary and medical pathogens. With funding from the Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (MCID), IFIK operates a centralized repository for pathogens with high-impact public health consequences. It is a core activity that, on the one hand, provides access to high-consequence pathogens, a research focus of the MCID, and provides viral genomes and their mutated derivatives via a recently established synthetic genomics pipeline.
The BioPreparedness biobank repository with up to 10,000 samples is implemented in the Biosafety Laboratory at sitem-insel, complemented by BSL-4 storage capacity at the Spiez Laboratory and the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI). The biorepository is fed by viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens collected from clinical routine diagnostic activities, international research collaborations and reference laboratory duties and by viral genomes generated via the synthetic genomics pipeline and stably maintained in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
The core activity is based on a close collaboration between the Faculties of Medicine and Vetsuisse.
