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Quantifying the impact of biobanks and cohort studies
Title / Series / Name
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Editors
Keywords
biobanks
hidden citations
research impact
science of science
Multidisciplinary
SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
hidden citations
research impact
science of science
Multidisciplinary
SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/27752
Abstract
Biobanks advance biomedical and clinical research by collecting and offering data and biological samples for numerous studies. However, the impact of these repositories varies greatly due to differences in their purpose, scope, governance, and data collected. Here, we computationally identified 2,663 biobanks and their textual mentions in 228,761 scientific articles, 16,210 grants, 15,469 patents, 1,769 clinical trials, and 9,468 public policy documents, helping characterize the academic communities that utilize and support them. We found a strong concentration of biobank-related research on a few diseases, including obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, and diabetes. Moreover, collaboration, rather than citation count, shapes the community’s recognition of a biobank. We show that, on average, 41.1% of articles fail to reference any of the biobank’s reference papers, but 59.6% include a biobank member as a coauthor. Using a generalized linear model, we identified the key factors that contribute to the impact of a biobank, finding that an impactful biobank tends to be more open to external researchers and that quality data—especially linked medical records—as opposed to large data, correlates with a higher impact in science, innovation, and disease. The collected data and findings are accessible through an open-access web application intended to inform strategies to expand access and maximize the value of these resources.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2025-04-22
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1073/pnas.2427157122