CORBEL Catalogue of Services

Why do we need a Catalogue of Services?

Currently there are 13 biological and medical sciences Research Infrastructures (RIs) in Europe, all of them working jointly together in CORBEL towards offering shared services for life-science.
All RIs offer services, i.e. researchers from academia and industry can access their facilities, technologies and expertise. Services can simply be consultation, access to experts, but also access to data and biological samples, use of data analysis tools, access to facilities (e.g. highly specialised microscopes) plus support from technicians and much more.

The CORBEL Catalogue of Services is the first tool to list the main services of all these RIs at a glance and it aims to facilitate the utilisation of RI services by researchers from all over the world.

The Catalogue of Services as displayed below aims to provide you a basic overview on existing services within distinct thematic fields.
You can either use the Catalogue of Services to identify a single RI to help you with your work or you can create your own CORBEL service pipelines, i.e. using several RIs subsequently.

Examples of service pipelines are provided here. 

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BBMRI-ERIC

Website: www.bbmri-eric.eu

Contact person(s): Eleanor Shember, Contact(a)bbmri-eric.eu

BBMRI-ERIC is a research infrastructure of biobanks and biomolecular resources. Our main goal is to provide expertise and services, advancing the use of European sample collections and its data for the benefit of human health. Our activities are on a non-economic basis and primarily intended for our member countries.

Services provided

BBMRI-ERIC delivers services to their member states in IT; Quality Management; ELSI; Biobanking Development; Public Affairs; and Outreach, Education and Communications. 

  • Key IT Services

          - Directory (collecting information about biobanks and their sample/data collections)
          - Negotiator (facilitating communication between researchers requesting samples/data
                 from biobanks)
          - Bibbox (toolbox for biobanks, open-source software)
          - MIABIS 2.0 (Community standard for sharing information about biobanks)

  • Key Quality Management Services

          - Knowledge Hub (Consulting on international standards relevant for biobanking and biomedical research; Quality management tasks in EU projects)

  - Training & Support (In-house and online training, university courses, summer schools, short courses, workshops and consulting services covering various quality management systems relevant for biobanking and biomedical research )

- Auditing (The BBMRI-ERIC Self-Assessment Surveys (SAS) help to determine relevant requirements for work processes defined in international standards for biobanking and biomedical research)

- Audit programmes (Remote/on-site) (Quality check mark in Directory (assessment processes, including a remote or on-site audit, can lead to a Q-mark in the BBMRI-ERIC Directory))

  • Key ELSI Services

          - ELSI Helpdesk

          - ELSI Knowledge Base

          - Ethics Check

          - ELSI Policy Monitoring

          - Task Force Societal Issues

          - Task Force GDPR

Costs

Services are free for those biobanks that are located in a member state.
For further information please contact us.

Access modes

Access can be on-site or online, dependent on the requested service.
For further information please contact us.

Why work with us

Reproducible data in research is key and in order to achieve that, you need high-quality samples and data as a starting point. BBMRI-ERIC enables biobanks to work with high-quality samples and associated data and supports controlled access to the wider research community, being a true gateway to health.

Countries involved

Members: AT, BE, BG, CZ, EE, FI, DE, GR, HU, IT, LV, ML, NL, NO, PL, SE, SL, UK
Observers: IARC/WHO, CH, CY, LT, SP, TR

ECRIN-ERIC

Website: www.ecrin.org

Contact person(s): European Correspondent in your country, Christine Kubiak

ECRIN is a pan-European distributed infrastructure that links scientific partners across Europe to facilitate multinational clinical research. ECRIN provides sponsors and investigators with support for the development and implementation of multinational clinical trials.

Services provided

Services offered by ECRIN include

  • information and advice for funding applications and preparation of multinational clinical trials (methodology, operational aspects, regulatory, ethics, contracting...)
  • trial management operations (interaction with competent authorities & ethics committees, project management, monitoring, vigilance, data management)
  • clinical trial tools (outcome measures, regulatory database, site locations, risk-based monitoring)
  • data centre certification program (audits European, non-commercial data centres using ECRIN IT/DM standards, to confirm their ability to provide compliant, effective, and efficient data management services for controlled clinical trials)

Costs

Information and advice are free for ECRIN members. The cost of trial management services depends on the type of service requested. Data centre certification costs depend on the type of country membership.

Access modes

Users submit their proposal or request to ECRIN office; the access mode depends on proposal and needs. There are annual calls for data centre certification.

Why work with us

Difficulties in locating clinical trials units, fulfilling local legal, regulatory and ethical requirements, and coordinating multi-country clinical trial management deter many researchers from attempting multinational clinical trials. This means that most independent clinical trials are conducted in single centres, or multiple centres within one country. ECRIN provides a path through Europe's fragmented health and legal systems with its pan-European infrastructure that is designed to support multinational clinical research and unlock access to patients and medical expertise.

Countries involved

FR, DE, HU, IT, NO, ES, PT, CZ, IE
Observer: CH, SK, PL

ELIXIR

Website: www.elixir-europe.org

Contact person(s): Dr. Jerry Lanfear

ELIXIR unites Europe’s leading life science organisations in managing and safeguarding the increasing volume of data being generated by publicly funded research. It coordinates, integrates and sustains bioinformatics resources across its member states and enables users in academia and industry to access services that are vital for their research.

Services provided

ELIXIR coordinates a core set of critical services, databases and tools that are very widely used across the life science research community in Europe. They include

  • databases
  • tools
  • interoperibility services
  • computing facilities
  • training courses

An overview on ELIXIR services can be found here

Costs

Whilst there may be a charge for accessing some national compute facilities, the majority of services are free for users. For example, depositing and accessing data from databases is free, as are training courses, interoperiblity services and tools for the analsyis of data.
For further information please contact us.

Access modes

Users access the services virtually (online) and directly with the resource they are interested in.
No application to or access via the ELIXIR Hub is required.

Why work with us

ELIXIR coordinates and develops life science resources across Europe so that researchers can more easily find, analyse and share data, exchange expertise, and implement best practices. This makes it possible for them to gain greater insights into how living organisms work.

Countries involved

EMBL, UK, SE, CH, CZ, EE, NO, NL, DK, IL, PT, FI, FR, ES, BE, IT, SI, LU, IE, DE, HU, GR
Observer: CY

EMBRC

Website: www.embrc.eu

Contact person(s): info(at)embrc.eu

The European Marine Biological Research Centre (EMBRC-ERIC) is a Research Infrastructure including 29 Operators across 9 different European countries. EMBRC is dedicated for marine biology and ecology research. EMBRC offers to the scientific community, academic institutions and private companies a comprehensive set of services to study marine organisms and to give access to ecosystems. EMBRC is providing local or remote access to state-of-the-art national facilities such as renowned marine biological stations.

Services provided

The EMBRC service offer includes

  • access to ecosystems: coastal research vessels, scientific diving facilities, submersibles (ROV/AUV), in-situ sampling facilities and monitoring equipment, field stations
  • marine biological resources (micro & macro, alive & fixed, wild & cultivated): biobanks, culture collections (algae, bacteria, zooplankton... within RCC, MOLA, PCC, MCCV), marine model organisms, sampling upon request
  • experimental facilities: aquaria & mesocosms, wet and dry laboratories, climate rooms, field experiment
  • technology platforms: aquaculture, biological analysis, imaging, molecular biology and ‘omics, remote sensing and telemetry, structural and chemical analysis, other
  • e-Infrastructure, data & services: data, data analysis tools and softwares, computing and storage infrastructure, bioinformatics and data management services
  • supporting facilities: in-house lodging, in-house catering (administrative restaurant), workspaces (e.g. offices, conference and meeting rooms with videoconference system), training facilities, lab spaces (wet laboratories, aquariums with different volumes capacities)

Costs

Prices depend on the nature of the service and are available upon request.

Access modes

Through the 29 European operators, users can access the services remotely or on-site. The user has to select the service of interest, submit a proposal and he/she will receive feedback or be contacted.

Why work with us

Researchers should contact us in order to have access to marine ecosystems, marine biological resources and associated technological platforms for analysis.

Countries involved

BE, ES, FR, IT, GR, NO, PT, IL, UK

EMPHASIS

Website: emphasis.plant-phenotyping.eu

Contact person(s): Dr. Roland Pieruschka, Dr. Sven Fahrner

EMPHASIS is a pan-European, distributed plant phenotyping infrastructure. EMPHASIS will focus on developing and enabling access to plant phenotyping infrastructure and provision of services essential for the analysis of crop performance with respect to structure, function, quality and interaction with the environment. It will thus support the exploitation of crop genetic diversity required for the enhancement of plant productivity and progress in plant breeding.

Services provided

In cooperation with EPPN2020, EMPHASIS offers access to plant phenotyping infrastructures, which includes

  • high-throughput facilities
  • lean field facilities
  • intensive field facilities
  • assay development
  • data management

Further services are currently under development and will be implemented in its operational phase.

Costs

The access provided currently via EPPN2020 is free of charge for selected user-groups, based on a simple application procedure and includes the logistical, technological and scientific support as well as specific training required to successfully complete the approved Transnational Access project.
For further information please contact us.

Access modes

European-wide access to plant phenotyping infrastructures is currently under development in our partner project EPPN2020 and is provided via its homepage.

Access will be accordingly provided by EMPHASIS once it reaches its operational phase.

Why work with us

EPPN2020 provides transnational access to plant phenotyping infrastructure as a basis for novel scientific approaches to quantitative plant assessment in high throughput. The installations represent a diverse set of facilities for plant phenotyping in Europe with focus on: i) non-invasive high-throughput phenotyping under controlled conditions, ii) destructive sampling aiming at assessing underlying traits helping to understand the genetic variability of different plant processes, iii) controlled field facilities allowing users to control rainfall and/or the concentration of air CO2 together with high-definition, non-invasive sensors. Transnational access will be available based on a simple and transparent access procedure.

Countries involved

Preparatory Phase of the project: BE, FR, IT, NL, UK, DE

EU-OPENSCREEN

Website: www.eu-openscreen.eu

Contact person(s): Project Manager: Dr. Tanja Miletic

EU-OPENSCREEN integrates high-capacity screening platforms throughout Europe, which jointly use a rationally selected compound collection, comprising up to 140.000 commercial and proprietary compounds collected from European chemists. EU-OPENSCREEN offers to researchers from academic institutions, SMEs and industrial organisations open access to its shared resources.

EU-OPENSCREEN will collaboratively develop novel molecular tool compounds with external users from various disciplines of the life sciences.

Services provided

Services provided by EU-OPENSCREEN include

  • high-throughput compound/ drug screening (HTS): HTS of an assay against the EU-OPENSCREEN chemical collection (> 100,000 compounds); in silico profiling; hit selection; confirmatory screening; basic counter screening; basic SAR based on screening data; QC of confirmed hits
  • access to a unique European compound collection: EU-OPENSCREEN chemical collection (> 100,000 compounds)
  • assay adaption: This assay adaptation process will involve a strong emphasis on quality, including: quality control of reagents; (patho-)physiological relevance; pharmacological consistency; robustness; minimised variability; and tracking of statistical descriptors (e.g. signal to background and the Z’ factor) 
  • chemical optimization and profiling of preliminary ‘hits’
  • bioprofiling of donated compounds: All compounds donated by the user which enter the EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC compound collection are characterised and annotated for basic physico-chemical (e.g. identity, solubility, light absorbance and fluorescence) and essential to know biological properties (cytotoxicity, antibiotic, antifungal etc.) by testing in a standard panel of assays.
  • provision of standardised data: All data generated through QC/bioprofiling and screening activities will be published in EU-OPENSCREEN’s open-access database with an optional ‘grace’ period (i.e. delayed publication of data). Large-scale open-access data provide the basis for computational data integration to obtain a systematic view, allow for prediction of drug-target interactions and networks as well as of adverse effects and drug combinations. The access to the EU-OPENSCREEN database will utilize the facilities of ChEMBL.
  • training and education activities

Costs

A screening project at a typical EU-OPENSCREEN screening site will cost 50-250k €, strongly depending on the number of screened substances and the maturity/ complexity of the assay.
A compound replenishment fee structure applies to all projects using the EU-OPENSCREEN compound collection and users from countries which are members of the EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC will receive a discount on this cost.
For further information please contact us.

Access modes

Users are requested to submit project proposal to the EU-OPENSCREEN office. Depending on the project requirements, the RI can be assessed remotely or on-site.

Why work with us

The majority of scientists in Europe do not have access to suitable technology platforms and compound collections, which are generally expensive to purchase, operate and maintain. As a large-scale research infrastructure (RI) with an ‘open’ pre-competitive character, EU-OPENSCREEN will cost-effectively overcome this limitation by: involving and providing access to Europe’s leading screening platforms and chemistry groups; offering a jointly used rationally designed compound collection; and operating an open-access bioactivity database which will be accessible on a global basis. EU-OPENSCREEN offers to support you through grant application processes and beyond for funding involving screening projects.

Countries involved

CZ, FI, DE, LV, NO, PO, ES, DK

Euro-BioImaging

Website: www.eurobioimaging.eu

Contact person(s): Johanna Bischof, Alessandra Viale

Euro-BioImaging offers life scientists open access to imaging instruments, expertise, training opportunities, and data management services that they do not find at their home institutions or among their collaboration partners. All scientists, regardless of affiliation, area of expertise, or field of activity, can benefit from these pan-European open access services.

Services provided

Euro-BioImaging offers state-of-the-art imaging services through its internationally renowned facilities, called Nodes. Nodes cover the whole spectrum of biological and biomedical imaging, with an ever-growing portfolio of cutting-edge instruments. Researchers at any stage of their career can request access to over 45+ imaging technologies hosted at 33 Nodes located in 16 European countries and at EMBL. New technologies are included continuously to offer access to the most innovative and pioneering technologies on the market. 

Please visit the Euro-BioImaging Web Access Portal for detailed information about the offered services.

Costs

The access fees for each visit are individually discussed and agreed upon directly between the Euro-BioImaging user and the respective Euro-BioImaging Node as part of the pre-visit discussion during the project planning phase. The user is therefore fully informed of all costs that will arise related to the access to a Euro-BioImaging Node. The Euro-BioImaging Hub, taking care of all administrative work in Euro-BioImaging, do not charge any costs to the users!

Access support for users is announced on the Euro-BioImaging Web Portal.

Access modes

Euro-BioImaging offers open access to its technology portfolio, which is put in place using a selection procedure based on scientific soundness and technical feasibility of the project. In most cases, scientists visit the requested Node to perform their experiments on-site, being supported throughout their project by expert technical staff. Access to the image data resources are remote, online and can be found via the Euro-BioImaging Web Portal.

Why work with us

All scientists, regardless of affiliation, area of expertise, or field of activity, can benefit from Euro-BioImaging’s pan-European open access services. For most technologies, scientists are invited to receive hands-on training at the imaging instrument of their choice so that they can generate the desired data sets themselves and expand their technological knowledge. Visits can vary in length between single days to several weeks or months, depending on the project’s need and individual circumstances. Scientists interested in accessing Euro BioImaging services simply submit a short description of their planned experiment via the online application portal. Senior scientists and Node staff will offer expert advice on the project’s scope and experimental set-up to ensure that the experiment has the best chance of success from the very first visit.

Countries involved

Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy , Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, EMBL (intergovernmental organisation), Belgium (observer)

Instruct-ERIC

Website: instruct-eric.org

Contact person(s): Dr. Claudia Alen Amaro, Coordinator Head of Operations

Instruct-ERIC is a pan-European research infrastructure in structural biology, making high-end technologies and methods available to scientists. Access is provided free for academic scientists at Instruct centres and includes expert support.

Services provided

Services offered by Instruct include

  • Sample Preparation: Crystallisation, Nanobody Discovery, Protein Production;
  • Biomolecular Analysis: Imaging, Mass Spectrometry, Molecular Biophysics;
  • 3D Structural Analysis: Electron Microscopy, Magnetic Resonance Techniques, X-ray Techniques;
  • Compuational Services for Structural Biology: Bioinformatics Tools, Integrative Modelling, Crystallography, Electron Microscopy, NMR

https://instruct-eric.org/platform-catalogue

Costs

Free for academic users; on service-basis for commercial use (user access is on a fee for service basis; no obligation to disclose or publish data).
Users can apply for travel and accommodation costs where a physical visit to an Instruct facility is required.
For further information please contact us.

Access modes

Depending on the requested service, access can be on-site, remote, or mail-in sample.

For further information please contact us.

Why work with us

Instruct is at the cutting edge of new technologies: automation, remote access, new detector methods, advanced imaging. Access to Instruct-ERIC infrastructure can help advance your research - more than 1200 peer-reviewed scientific publications acknowledge Instruct.

Countries involved

BE, CZ, EMBL, FI, FR, DE, GR, IL, IT, LV, LT, NL, PT, SK, SI, ES, UK

ISBE

Contact person(s): Dr. Sonja Hansen, Prof. Gennaro Piccialli (Interim Coordinator), Anže Županic (ISBE.SI node), Alexey Kolodkin (ISBE.NL node)

ISBE empowers European researchers across academia, clinics and industry to implement systems biology approaches addressing how the dynamic interactions between biological components (molecules, cells, tissues, organs) leads to the functioning of living organisms. ISBE fosters project collaborations between experimental and computational teams, and with complementary research infrastructures. ISBE actively supports scientists in facilitating model-compliant data generation, making their research assets FAIR (i.e. findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) and creating predictive computational multi-scale models of biological systems based on integration of highly diverse data sets. In addition, ISBE will provide training for infrastructure users and providers to offer efficient services.

Services provided

Services offered by ISBE include

  • support to develop and exploit quantitative and predictive computational models to understand the functioning of complex biological systems
  • support in the acquisition of selected experimental data that are fit-for-modelling
  • model-based data integration and data analysis (e.g. cancer cell multiOMICS)
  • model analysis and validation
  • model-based simulation
  • support to implement tools and standards that make research assets FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) through the FAIRDOM organisation
  • training and education

Costs

The costs depend on the kind of service requested. All web-based services and simple advice by ISBE personnel is free; more extensive support is project based.
For further information please contact us.

Access modes

Access can be on-site or remote, depending on the kind of service requested.
For further information please contact us.

Why work with us

Systems biology is a branch of the life sciences that helps to obtain in-depth understanding through integrating multiple and diverse data sets in quantitative computational models. These models are able to predict the behaviour of biological systems based on experimental data about the interplay of molecules, cells and tissues in time and space. Validation and analysis of such predictions improve the model and gives insight into the interplay of system components in time and space. The success of this approach is illustrated with a number of examples.

Countries involved

Italy - ISBE Italy

Slovenia - ISBE Slovenia

Netherlands - ISBE@NL 

MIRRI

Website: www.mirri.org

Contact person(s): MIRRI Interim Secretariat

MIRRI is the pan-European research infrastructure for microbial resources [i.e. bacteria (including cyanobacteria), archaea, fungi, yeasts, plant viruses, bacteriophages and their isolated DNA]. In addition, the MIRRI repertoire also covers human, animal and plant cell cultures.

By provision of high quality microorganisms, associated data and the broad expertise of our partners, MIRRI aims to support research and development in the field of biotechnology.

Services provided

MIRRI services comprise

  • access to microorganisms/cell lines deposited in public collections
  • deposit of microorganisms/cell lines (public collection/patents)
  • phenotypic/molecular characterisation of microorganisms
  • identification/molecular typing of microorganisms
  • isolation/cultivation/preservation of microorganisms
  • microbial community analyses
  • microbial phylogenetic studies
  • screening/bioassays with microorganisms
  • access to microbiological databases
  • consultancy/contract research
  • legal issues (e.g. Nagoya Protocol)
  • biosafety/biosecurity
  • training

Costs

Costs depend on the kind of service requested.
For further information please contact us.

Access modes

Access modes depend on the kind of service requested.
For further information please contact us.

Why work with us

MIRRI offers not only a broad spectrum of high quality microorganisms, but also a longlasting expertise in each field of microbiology. Aiming at harmonising the current microbial Biological Resource Centre (mBRC) landscape, MIRRI enables facilitated access to deposited microorganisms and is constantly improving the corresponding state-of-the-art service offers. Our experts ensure legal compliance of resources (Nagoya Protocol) and with the envisaged interoperability of existing and future databases researchers can exploit the full value of microorganisms.

Countries involved

under development

Please note: Most of the RIs are constantly developing their portfolio of services, so if you do not find the service/tool you are looking for, do not hesitate to contact the RI and ask for it!