Abstract
In this issue of Biopreservation and Biobanking, we would like to introduce a new section, Emerging Markets & Technologies, for which we are the section editors. This new section is the result of discussions in late 2019, in recognition of the expanding role biobanking is playing in our lives. We believe that our ideas for this new direction for the journal will result in a broader array of article submissions and an expanded readership, bringing emerging industries and biobanking applications closer to our community.
We are now in an era that was once thought of as science fiction. Although biobanks are often associated with research, the application and concepts stemming from this sector have fueled a new generation of technologies geared at providing direct-to-consumer solutions in emerging markets across the globe. Examples include services to help you better understand your wellness, personalized biome products, targeted marketing campaigns, new data security infrastructure, and much more. This section will highlight the emergence of new markets and technologies that are either adopting or disrupting the biobank framework as they imprint on society. The solutions presented here are anticipated to help drive innovation within the biobank community.
We envision the development and integration of a community that is utilizing the core of what our current biobanking community has established over many decades. These emerging markets and new precision wellness and health applications will not only create potential publications in the area of applied biobanking but also expand our knowledge on critical issues around sample collection, digital/physical chain of custody, and sample quality in the context of unique applications for biomaterial collections. These topics will likely include a blend of new sample collection technologies and approaches along with creative automation solutions for sample processing within the biobank facilities. In addition, the management, sharing and integration of data through novel and secure interfaces, will be another avenue for our community at large. We are working with direct to consumer, direct level marketing, precision wellness, and precision health care innovation and scientific executives, and their leadership teams to help them understand how contributing to this new section will be mutually beneficial to our collective goals as the stewards of biomaterial resources. As you can imagine, these new publications will be directly linked to the goals of these organizations and will likely be used as references for scientific applications that are published in other venues. We envisage this section to be a blend of practical biobanking applications and technologies, allowing for the scope and scale required for these emerging markets. We are encouraging the key opinion leaders in these areas to share with us how they have developed a framework for more broad and efficient processes in both sample and data collection. We feel that this section will create an outlet for education and collaboration for many emerging biobank applications within our community.
As we implement this new section, we encourage you to contact us or Editor-in-Chief Jim Vaught with ideas for articles, special sections, and special issues that address topics related to emerging markets and technologies. We're excited to see where these new directions lead, and add value to the Journal's mission to cover all aspects of biobanking and biopreservation.