Munich Mental Health Biobank

The Munich Mental Health Biobank (MMHB) is a core facility at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and the Institute for Psychiatric Phenomic and Genomic (IPPG) of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich. Its mission is to establish a biomedical database and research resource to provide researchers access to biological samples and in-depth phenotypes of psychiatric patients and healthy controls recruited in quotidian clinical practice or via clinical studies at LMU. It comprehensively includes patients from all diagnostic spectra as well as individuals without a mental health diagnosis.

MMHB also spearheads the coordinated biobanking effort of the German Centre for Mental Health (Deutsches Zentrum für Psychische Gesundheit), an interdisciplinary mental health research network of leading German universities and research institutes.

The biological samples (DNA & RNA from whole blood, plasma, serum, PBMCs, CSF, hair) and phenotypic information are collected, managed and stored using the standardized biobank management system CentraXX (Kairos, Bochum, Germany) and are linked to clinical data from electronic health records. The collected data is processed by experienced technicians and researchers following documented standard operation procedures (SOPs), in accordance with good laboratory practice (GLP) guidelines. Biosamples are stored at -80°C.

The Biobank Team

Leadership:

Prof. Peter Falkai, MD; Prof. Thomas G. Schulze, MD; Peter Zill, PhD

Executive committee:

Eva Schulte, MD, PhD; Sven Wichert, PhD; Peter Zill, PhD

Operations:

Technical Management: Sven Wichert, PhD; Benjamin Keeser

Laboratory and Data Management: Sylvia de Jonge; Karin Neumeier

Biobanking

For patients

The Munich Mental Health Biobank is a large research program designed for long-term storage of biological samples, such as blood and hair,
as well as clinical data. It has been built to support researchers in understanding the development and course of mental illnesses (such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorders, dementia and addictions). To achieve this goal, we need biological samples and
clinical data from patients, their relatives and also individuals without a known mental illness. By participating in the Munich Mental Health Biobank (MMHB), you can help us to better understand, treat, and hopefully in the future even prevent the diseases that might affect your mental health,
that of your family and that of future generations.


  • If you are interested in becoming a participant of the MMHB
  • contact your physician, in case you are treated as an in- or –outpatient at our hospital, or
  • write an email at PSY.MMHB@med.uni-muenchen.de
  • Your participation is voluntary. You can withdraw your consent at any time. The collected biological samples and clinical data will be stored or archived in deidentified form, in accordance with the current EU data protection guidelines and will only be used for research purposes.
  • If you decide to participate, we will ask you to donate 30 ml of blood and ask you to answer questions about yourself and your medical history. This will take approx. 30 minutes. This will happen only once and you will not need to return for follow-up visits.


How to request samples

To request datasets or biological samples (DNA & RNA from whole blood, plasma, serum, PBMCs, CSF, hair),
please contact us at PSY.MMHB@med.uni-muenchen.de We are happy to help and collaborate with you.

Further information: (in German)

Für Patienten: Kurzinformation zur Patienteninformation
Für Wissenschaftler: Ethik und Datenschutzkonzept