Why are you involved in the NUM?

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 - quite a while before the start of the NUM - we considered in various rounds how we could support and advance research into Covid-19. Suddenly, collaboration across institutional and location boundaries worked, which had previously been difficult. This has continued in the NUM projects and the open and trusting collaboration across specialisms, locations and hierarchies is still a strong motivation today.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities if all university hospitals conduct joint research?

In the field of clinical trials, it is essential that university hospitals have structures in place that are able to roll out a trial on a specific topic very quickly if required. This is where the NUM makes a decisive contribution. The size of the network and the expertise it brings together can then be optimally utilised.

Tell us a technical term from your job that sounds exciting and that only the real experts understand! What does the term mean?

High density racks: these are new storage units for very small sample storage tubes. Biosamples, for example, are stored in 0.3 ml portions in tubes that have a 2D barcode on the bottom to identify the individual sample. To save storage space, there are now new storage units that can hold 138 of these tubes on the same footprint instead of the previous 96. This saves storage space and ultimately electricity and other resources

What excites you about your job?

In biobanking, we deal with a wide range of topics, from ethical and legal issues and topics such as patient participation, laboratory methods, analytical equipment and methods of data analysis to technical issues relating to storage equipment and, for example, the nitrogen supply for this equipment. It never gets boring!