The Assembly of Members, representing 26 Member/Observer countries of the Biobanking and BioMolecular resources Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium (BBMRI-ERIC), reappointed Professor Jens K. Habermann, M.D., Ph.D. as Director General for a further five years.
Joining BBMRI-ERIC in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prof. Habermann has:
- Led the research infrastructure in its scientific response and continuing pandemic preparedness.
- Developed the research infrastructure through a period of strategic repositioning focused on boosting services to member states.
- Overseen growth in BBMRI-ERIC’s membership base from 17 Member Countries and 4 Observers in 2020 to be one of the largest health and life sciences research infrastructures in Europe. There are currently 22 Member Countries and 4 Observers including the global organisation IARC/WHO.
- Strengthened the BBMRI-ERIC’s HQ team by attracting leadership staff from across Europe.
- Spearheaded the uniquely community and stakeholder co-created 10-Year Roadmap to guide BBMRI-ERIC’s evolution over the next decade (2025 – 2035). Its focus is on increasingly synergised and scaled activities while adopting the One Health approach, addressing the Green Deal and advancing global perspectives.
Dr. Barbara Flückiger Schwarzenbach, Chair of BBMRI-ERIC’s Assembly of Members welcomed the decision to reappoint. She said:
“BBMRI-ERIC is truly fortunate to have Jens as Director General for another five-year term. His visionary leadership has guided BBMRI through a remarkable strategic repositioning, firmly establishing its role at the forefront of European research infrastructures. His second term of stewardship not only brings stability but also offers rare and valuable continuity. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Jens, confident that his insight, commitment, and strategic foresight will propel BBMRI-ERIC into an even more impactful future.”
Distinguished and established leadership
Prof. Habermann is a distinguished scientist, clinician and recognised expert in biobanking, translational cancer research and human genetics. His first term harnessed this experience through leadership of the European flagship project canSERV, which enables cancer researchers to access cutting-edge research infrastructure provided services across Europe.
His multidisciplinary approach has positioned BBMRI-ERIC to increase its EU project-based funding 2.7 fold while leading, or significantly contributing to, 24 prestigious Horizon Europe projects that structure the European Research Era in the fields of genomics, AI, cancer, rare diseases, paediatrics, COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, federated platforms, personalised medicine, brain health, prevention, sensitive health data, European Health Data Space (EHDS), European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and One Health. Under Prof. Habermann’s leadership, BBMRI-ERIC, with its distinctively positioned expertise in sensitive health data, is also a founding Node of the EOSC Federation that is currently in buildup phase.
Looking forward to the next five years, Prof. Habermann shared:
“I feel sincerely honoured by the Assembly of Members’ decision and am truly thankful for the trust and confidence reflected by this reappointment. It was a tremendous pleasure to serve BBMRI-ERIC as Director General over the last five years. I am delighted to further build on BBMRI- ERIC’s fundamental value proposition in the European Research Area and further advance the implementation of BBMRI’s co-created 10-Year Roadmap.
“Specifically, I am excited to continue working closely together with BBMRI-ERIC’s Assembly of Members, National Nodes, biobanks, various expert groups, patients and citizens pillar, collaborators in academia and industry, partner infrastructures on European and national level as well as with the European Commission to further advance BBMRI-ERIC’s service provision to benefit a healthier world.”
Prof. Habermann’s profile
Professor Jens K. Habermann, M.D., Ph.D. has been Director General of BBMRI-ERIC (the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium) since September 2020.
He obtained his M.D. training at Medical University of Lübeck, Germany, received his Ph.D. at the Cancer Center Karolinska at Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, NIH (Bethesda, USA).
As a board certified specialist in human genetics, Prof. Habermann combines clinics, biobanking, and translational (cancer) research to optimise personalised medicine. Prof. Habermann continues to lead in scientific excellence by returning to the University of Lübeck in his former role as Head of Section for Translational Surgical Oncology and Biobanking. In the official and public interest, the University of Lübeck and the State Government of Schleswig-Holstein generously allocate Prof. Habermann to BBMRI-ERIC for continuation of his function as Director General for another five years for which he was reappointed by the Assembly of Members of BBMRI-ERIC.