Hungary
The BBMRI-ERIC Hungarian Biobank Node (HBN) acts as the national umbrella organisation for Hungary’s largest biobanks and represents the Hungarian biomedical research community within BBMRI-ERIC. Established in 2021 with the support of the Hungarian Research and Innovation Office, HBN brings together six major biobanks from leading academic, clinical and industrial institutions and has recently been joined by the Budapest University of Technology and Economics as a new member providing IT service support.
Its mission is to provide ethical, standardised and FAIR-compliant access to high-quality biospecimens and associated clinical data, thereby supporting precision medicine and research innovation. In addition, HBN promotes collaboration, capacity building and infrastructure development, enhancing the national and international visibility and impact of Hungarian biobanks. More about BBMRI.hu.
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Areas of expertise
Disease-focused biobanking with rich, longitudinal clinical and molecular datasets, supporting translational and precision medicine research.
Clinical-trial–ready biobanking and data services, with particular strengths in oncology, rare diseases and cardiovascular disorders.
High-throughput, quality controlled biospecimen and real-world data generation serving academic and industry partners; several sites actively contribute to real-world evidence initiatives, including the EMA’s DARWIN project.
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Achievements
Completion of the Semmelweis Federated Data Warehouse enabling fully operational, secure and FAIR-aligned data sharing among biobank partners, accompanied by the release of an educational YouTube film explaining federated data sharing to researchers and the wider public.
Initiation of a national biobanking data federation representing a major step toward interoperable, country-wide access to biospecimen-associated data and strengthening coordinated data governance at the national level.
Strategic expansion toward a One Health approach in biobanking, integrating human, animal and environmental perspectives and incorporating Nagoya Protocol–compliant access and benefit-sharing principles to ensure ethical and legally sound use of non-human genetic resources.
Achievements linked to calendar year 2025
National Node Director: Prof. Mária Judit Molnár
✉️ Email: molnar.mariajudit@med.semmelweis-univ.hu
🔗 Web: https://www.bbmri.hu