Janus steering committee
A multi-disciplinary steering committee with skills in epidemiology, molecular medicine, virology, biochemistry and statistics is responsible for the scientific management of the Janus biobank. This ensures the best scientific utilization of the material in the bank.
The secretariat
The Janus secretariat, consisting of technical personnel as well as researchers with extensive experience of biobank research, has an important role in the daily management of the bank. They coordinate all research projects in continuous and close dialogue with the principal investigators. The secretariat aims to be a good advisory body for the researchers, both on scientific issue such as study design and laboratory analyzes as well as improving the applications as needed.
Coding system
The aspect of quality in all phases of a research project includes that the laboratory analysis is carried out blinded to avoid potential biases. The definition of a unique study code is essential and is normally generated by the Janus secretary. A code-keeping system has been in routine use for decades. The code of the case-control status and other information is revealed only after laboratory analyses are finalized and results have been returned to secretary. This ensures that no change in sample analysis results can occur after the code on case-control status has been broken. The code-keeping system also ensures a high degree of confidentiality: patients’ names and identities are never disclosed to anyone outside the biobank. The strict blinding policy is also an effective measure for prevention of fraud, thereby ensuring credibility and resulting impact of studies that originate from the Janus biobank.
The data delivery unit at the Cancer Registry link cancer information to the cases in a project. They also control that all required document exist before a de-identified data file is shipped to the researcher.
