The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource is a resource of over 100,000 volunteers, both with and without health conditions, who are willing to be approached to take part in research studies.
Headquartered in Cambridge, there are eight NIHR BioResources located round the country including, Cambridge, Leicester, London, Newcastle and Oxford.
The NIHR BioResource can provide researchers with volunteers tailor made to their research study. The NIHR BioResource holds genotyping and phenotyping information on all its volunteers. Each volunteer has provided a blood or saliva sample and completed a health questionnaire to match them to relevant studies.
The NIHR BioResource speeds up the process of the study recruitment by targeting specific cohorts of people based on the data, samples and health-related information provided and according to study criteria provided by researchers. Suitable study volunteers will then be invited to take part, therefore, greatly reducing recruitment time and aiding the smooth running of the study.
The NIHR BioResource has the capacity to support more studies and is looking for eligible research projects to sign up and use their service. Nathalie Kingston, Operational Director of the NIHR BioResource said: “Research teams supported by the NIHR BioResource are able to access large numbers of well characterised individuals. This can particularly help with the study of rare variants where identifying and recruiting particular groups of volunteers and patients can take time. We are now looking for more studies to be submitted and use our panel. Our volunteers have already taken part in a number of major studies researching a wide range of disease areas.”
Applications are considered for studies looking to recruit participants based on their genotype and/or phenotype and will be reviewed by the NIHR BioResource Scientific Advisory Board. If approved, the BioResource will work with the research team to ensure that the ethics submission and volunteer paperwork are in line with recruitment via the BioResource before screening their extensive database and inviting eligible volunteers to take part in the study.
For more information about the NIHR BioResource, visit their website https://bioresource.nihr.ac.uk/ or email [email protected].
What are you waiting for? Let the BioResource be the tool to your discovery.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is funded by the Department of Health to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. Since its establishment in April 2006, the NIHR has transformed research in the NHS. It has increased the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public, driven faster translation of basic science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy, and developed and supported the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research. The NIHR plays a key role in the Government’s strategy for economic growth, attracting investment by the life-sciences industries through its world-class infrastructure for health research. Together, the NIHR people, programmes, centres of excellence and systems represent the most integrated health research system in the world. For further information, visit the NIHR website (www.nihr.ac.uk).
About the NIHR BioResource
The NIHR BioResource is an NIHR initiative and has been established at seven of the Biomedical Research Centres - Cambridge, Imperial, King’s/Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s/South London and Maudsley, Oxford, University College London Hospitals, Newcastle and one Biomedical Research Unit, the Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit. It is headquartered within the Cambridge BRC site, the purpose of the resource is to provide a gateway for patients and healthy volunteers to engage in medical research. The Rare Diseases team of the NIHR BioResource supports clinical care teams in the recruitment participants with rare diseases, and their close relatives in the 100,000 Genomes Project.
About Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre
Based within the most outstanding NHS and University partnerships in the country, the Biomedical Research Centres are leaders in scientific translation. Located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, they receive substantial levels of funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to translate fundamental biomedical research into clinical research that benefits patients and they are early adopters of new insights in technologies, techniques and treatments for improving health.
About Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH)
Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) is one of the largest and best known hospitals in the country. As well as delivering care through Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, it is also:
- a leading national centre for specialist treatment for rare or complex conditions
- a government-designated biomedical research centre
- one of only five academic health science centres in the UK
- a university teaching hospital with a worldwide reputation
- a partner in the development of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus
CUH’s vision is to be one of the best academic healthcare organisations in the world.
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For further information, please contact:
Viv Northrop, BRC Communications Manager
Cambridge Biomedical Research Campus, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ
Tel: 01223 254619 Email: [email protected]
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