As part of the BIOCAN project’s efforts to establish the first cancer biobank in Montenegro, an initiative was launched by Dr. Maša Ždralević for the country’s accession to BBMRI-ERIC (Biobanking and BioMolecular Resources Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium), the leading European research infrastructure in the field of biobanking. The initiative was supported by the Faculty of Medicine, University of Montenegro, the Council for Scientific Research Activity, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, before being formally submitted for evaluation by the Government of Montenegro. Following this process, Montenegro was granted observer status within BBMRI-ERIC at the organization’s General Assembly in June 2026.
Within this new framework, the Faculty of Medicine, University of Montenegro has been designated as the national contact institution, while the BIOCAN biobank represents the country’s central operational biobanking structure. Dr. Maša Ždralević was appointed head of the national BBMRI-ERIC center. With this step, Montenegro joins the European research infrastructure network alongside its existing membership in ELI-ERIC and ESS-ERIC.
This milestone represents a significant strategic step for the development of biomedical research in Montenegro, enabling the integration of national biobanking capacities into the European research space, access to international standards, expertise, and collaborative networks, as well as future participation in international translational and multicenter studies. It also contributes to the long-term sustainability of the biobank established within the BIOCAN project.