37 - ELSI Dialogues: The role of biobanks in realising the One Health approach

“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 HealthThe 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 HealthBiobanking 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.