New podcast episode: ELSI Dialogues – Why ELSI Matters!

“I think an ELSI expert is often seen as a patch for projects from the natural sciences. You can ask this ELSI expert anything that has to be solved in a certain way, it has to be a yes or no answer, then it’s done and you never have to talk about it again.”

This episode of the BBMRI-ERIC podcast joins the ELSI (ethical, legal, societal issues/implications) team from across Europe when they met in person for the first time since the pandemic.

You hear from Michaela Th. Mayrhofer, Melanie Goisauf, Kaya Akyuz, Monica Cano Abadia, Irene Schlünder, Ilaria Colussi, Ulrike Felt, Anna Clareborn, Olga Tzortzatou, Lisa-Maria Ferent, Isabelle Budin Ljøsne and Gillian Martin.

Over two intense days in Vienna, the team shared findings and identified priorities for the next year.

BBMRI-ERIC Podcast

“One Health is fundamentally about cooperation.” (Prof. Jabob Zinsstag)

On 24 March 2026, three expert speakers joined us for a new ELSI Dialogues webinar to discuss the role biobanks can play in realising the One Health strategy. Josephine Uldry, Jakob Zinsstag and Adam Strobeyko discussed One Health from philosophical, societal, legal and practical perspectives, highlighting the complexity of the topic.

This webinar opens with a short introduction by Josephine Uldry (Swiss Biobanking), outlining the means for the biobanking community to support a One Health approach in research. Prof. Jakob Zinsstag (Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute), a pioneer of the One Health concept, shares insights from his extensive field experience in implementing this approach in diverse contexts and communities, illustrating how One Health approaches can improve epidemiology and public health policy in practice. Dr Adam Strobeyko (Swiss Biobanking and Global Health Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute) discusses the legal dimensions of pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response the efforts to integrate One Health into international frameworks and practical implications for biobanks.

About One Health

The goal of One Health is to balance and optimise the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment. This view moves away from an anthropocentric approach centred around humans and recognises how tightly these realms and their health are interwoven. This is a crucial step towards a healthier future as it is especially important for tackling emerging zoonotic diseases (infectious diseases transmitted from non-human animals to humans), antimicrobial resistance, food safety risks, environmental pollution and global health security.

Biobanks at the centre of One Health

Biobanking across human and non-human domains can play a key role in operationalising the One Health approach. They can support the collection, storage and sharing of human, animal, plant and environmental samples and data as indispensable resources for surveillance, research and policymaking.

BBMRI-ERIC and One Health

Our recently published 10-Year Roadmap (2025-2035) and our current Work Programme (2025-2027) are guided by the One Health approach as clear direction for our strategic development and actions. Follow our news on the website and on our socials for more info and future updates on the topic.

🔗 Watch the video recording here.