Request for a contribution towards a meeting 'Governing Biobanks-What are the challenges?' to be held at the University of Oxford from 24-26 June 2008. (360G-Wellcome-085239_Z_08_Z)

The purpose of this conference is to explore some of the complex and challenging issues that emerge from the governance of biobanks. Genomics research is on the crest of a wave, with discoveries of the variants responsible for common diseases, such as obesity and breast cancer, becoming increasingly frequent. These advances are aided by the rapid technological advances in genotyping, the accumulation of large datasets of freely-available sequence information, such as that provided by ENSEMBL, the SNP and International HapMap Consortiums, as well as the use of biobanks that collect genotypic and phenotypic data. Increasingly, we are seeing the development of large population biobanks, and moves towards a federated system of biobanks that crosses international boundaries, in order to provide the sample sizes and statistical power needed to trace the complex interactions between genes, lifestyle and environment. These developments raise interesting and challenging questions in terms of the governance of biobanks, and what might be considered to be the appropriate governance mechanisms in a global civil society. This is a topic that is of growing interest in the social sciences and humanities, but also is a matter that requires urgent investigation if the current growth of genomic resources is to be maintained.