BBMRI-ERIC is one of the 13 candidate Nodes of the EOSC Federation. See the dedicated page on the EOSC website.
Forming the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), it champions research data management and application to guarantee scientists’ access to data-driven science.
The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) stands at the intersection of Europe’s strategic priorities, offering solutions to critical challenges in research, innovation, and societal development. As a transformative tool, EOSC fosters digital sovereignty, inclusivity, trust, and transparency in the research and innovation domain. It is designed not only to support the Open Science movement but also to underpin Europe’s broader competitiveness agenda. The deployment of a network between data repositories and services will be instrumental for Open Science to progress in Europe.
There are three major areas where BBMRI-ERIC provides significant contribution to the EOSC Federation: its expertise in the sensitive health data domain; deployment of key technologies in alignment with Technical Readiness Level Nine and evolution of harmonised service provision that utilises the One Health paradigm.
Node profile
Name: BBMRI-ERIC EOSC Node
Coordinating organisation: BBMRI-ERIC (Biobanking and BioMolecular Resources Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium)
Contributing organisations: 28 member and observer countries plus the global organisation IARC/WHO; ~500 biobanks; each member/observer constitutes a national node (e.g. BBMRI-AT, BBMRI-NL, BBMRI-SE).
Abstract: The BBMRI-ERIC EOSC Node integrates Europe’s biobanks and biomolecular resources into the EOSC Federation. It provides GDPR-compliant, FAIR access to biosamples, genomic, imaging, and clinical data across ~500 biobanks in 25 countries. The Node enables secure federated analysis environments, contributes to the European Health Data Space (EHDS2), and supports AI-driven biomedical research with multicentric validation of models and biomarker discovery.
Key objective: To establish the BBMRI-ERIC Node as the biomedical/sensitive health data EOSC Node, enabling FAIR and secure federated access to data, GDPR-compliant analysis, and cross-border research in alignment with EHDS2.
Science areas: Biomedical and clinical research, genomics, biomarker discovery, personalised medicine, oncology, population health, One Health.
Scientific impact and scientific use cases:
- MCVAL: Multi-centric AI validation for prostate cancer diagnosis (collaboration with NCN Poland).
- MCBIO: AI biomarker discovery for colorectal cancer.
- Cross-node integration with EOSC-PL, CVTI SR, and Life Science Node.
Impact: Accelerates biomedical AI development, improves diagnostics, and supports personalised medicine.
Summary of FAIR data provided by Node: FAIR data from ~500 biobanks: genomics, imaging, clinical metadata. BBMRI Directory ensures findability; federated secure compute ensures accessibility and interoperability under GDPR and EHDS2 frameworks.
Status: Candidate Thematic Node (Build-up phase; 2025–2026)
Technical status: Federated AAI (Life Science AAI, ELIXIR AAI integration, EOSC AAI compliant). Onboarded service catalogues (BBMRI Directory, Negotiator, Sample Locator).
Timelines and milestones:
2025:
- Q2: Finalise Node governance and architecture
- Q3: Integration of BBMRI Directory and Negotiator with EOSC EU Node
- Q4: Demonstration of MCVAL use case (multi-centric AI validation)
2026:
- Q1: Production-level Node operational
- Q2: Integration of HPC compute and monitoring tools
- Q3: EHDS2-compliant federated compute pilot
- Q4: Demonstration of MCBIO use case (AI biomarker discovery)
Deliverables:
- D1.1 MCVAL-SINGLE-HPC: Short report on run of RationAI model on MUG data on compute capacities of single EOSC Node
- D1.2 MCVAL-SINGLE-HPC: Report on multi-centric validation of RationAI prostate model and on utilization of compute capacities of single EOSC Node
- D2.1 MCVAL-MULTI-HPC: Short report on run of RationAI model on MUG data on compute capacities of multiple EOSC Nodes
- D2.2 MCVAL-MULTI-HPC: Report on multi-centric validation of RationAI prostate model and on utilization of compute capacities of multiple EOSC Nodes
Access: Through the BBMRI Directory, Negotiator, and Sample Locator. Federated AAI ensures EOSC User access.
Rules of participation/Access policy: Based on BBMRI-ERIC’s Acceptable Use Policy and Policy for Access to Biological Samples and Data; aligned with EOSC Federation rules and GDPR.
Interactions with other (candidate) Nodes and EU Node: Collaborates with EOSC-CZ, EOSC-PL, CVTI SR, ICSC, CSC, SURF, EOSC EU Node. Strong synergies with EHDS2.
Capabilities of Node: Federated services: AAI, Directory, Negotiator, Sample Locator. Data repositories: ~500 biobanks across 25 countries. Other: GDPR-compliance frameworks, training materials, EHDS2 integration
EOSC Federation in production
Directory
Through the BBMRI-ERIC EOSC Node, the Directory makes BBMRI-ERIC’s network of biobanks and biomolecular resources discoverable to the wider EOSC community. Researchers can publicly search, without authentication, for relevant samples, data and services and identify potential sources for their research. Where further authenticated interaction is required, users can continue through LifeScience Login/AAI, which also provides an entry route for users coming from EOSC. In this way, the Directory helps connect EOSC researchers with suitable biomedical resources that can subsequently be accessed and processed using compatible services and computing capacities available elsewhere in the EOSC Federation.
Locator
The Locator enables EOSC users to move from catalogue-level discovery to detailed, privacy-preserving searches for samples and associated data across participating BBMRI-ERIC biobanks. Individual-level data remain at the source institutions, while researchers can determine whether relevant resources are available through federated queries. Users authenticate through LifeScience Login/AAI, including users arriving from the EOSC Federation. Once suitable data sources have been identified and access has been agreed, the data can be used in research workflows employing computing resources provided by other EOSC Nodes that meet BBMRI-ERIC’s requirements for the secure processing of sensitive health data.
Negotiator
The Negotiator provides the access-facilitation step that connects discovery with actual research use. EOSC users who identify relevant resources through the Directory, Locator or other discovery services can use Negotiator to communicate with BBMRI-ERIC biobanks and biomolecular resources, refine their requirements and establish the conditions for access to samples, data or specialised services. Authentication is provided through LifeScience Login/AAI, including for users entering through EOSC. Once access is established, the resulting data can become an input to computational workflows using suitable processing and storage resources from other EOSC Nodes, provided these environments fulfil the security, data-protection and sensitive-data processing requirements applicable to the BBMRI-ERIC resource.
Target Users
The BBMRI-ERIC EOSC Node primarily targets researchers working in medical and biomedical research who need access to high-quality samples, data and associated services. This includes a broad spectrum of users, from medical and clinical researchers investigating disease mechanisms, diagnostics, treatment and patient outcomes, to biologists and molecular scientists working with biospecimens, omics and other biomolecular data, as well as bioinformaticians, data scientists and computer scientists developing or applying advanced analytical methods, including artificial intelligence and machine learning. By connecting these communities to BBMRI-ERIC’s distributed biobanks and biomolecular resources, and to compatible computational capacities within the EOSC Federation, the Node supports multidisciplinary research workflows that increasingly combine biological, clinical and computational expertise.