Senior NHS Trust staff amongst first recruits to join new BioResource Centre in Sheffield at launch event

More than 250,000 volunteers across England have already signed up to the national NIHR BioResource, with the new Sheffield BioResource Centre aiming to recruit 800 people a year.

Researchers have set up a Sheffield BioResource Centre as part of the national NIHR BioResource, the first-of-its-kind health research service that collects genetic and lifestyle information from people with and without health conditions who can be recalled for future research
By storing DNA with linked clinical and demographic information, the BioResource plays a vital role in streamlining crucial health and care research

The team from the Sheffield National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with The University of Sheffield, are one of 18 centres across the country to join the national repository recruitment programme which since 2007 has collected over 250,000 biological samples from people with and without health conditions across the country. The samples have contributed to more than 300 health and care research studies, including the recent ground-breaking discovery about a certain hormone’s role in extreme pregnancy sickness.

Joining the NIHR BioResource is easy, with participants donating a blood or saliva sample and completing a health and lifestyle questionnaire. These samples are then stored in a central bioresource bank alongside linked clinical and demographic information.

Once stored, the donated DNA is available to researchers for relevant studies without them having to seek out samples. This streamlines vital health and care research and helps to develop new treatments, cures and health programmes.

Participants may also be identified as being of interest for other research studies, again providing a vital bank of information that speeds up crucial healthcare research. The BioResource can assist with recruitment of volunteers for research studies, with a team of experienced research coordinators and nurses available to manage appointments and consent, collect samples, and transport samples to the research team.

A special recruitment launch day was held by the NIHR BioResource – Sheffield and the NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital’s NIHR Sheffield Clinical Research Facility on Friday 15th December 2023.

Professor Dame Pamela Shaw, Director of the NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre, who was the first recruit, said:

"The NIHR BioResource is an important collaboration for both researchers and the public to understand the causes and pathways of disease.

"I have dedicated my career to improving the treatment and care of people with long-term health conditions, and am proud to have become the first of hopefully many recruits to the Sheffield BioResource Centre."

Dr David Black (pictured at the top of the page), Medical Director (Development) Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who also volunteered to be recruited to the NIHR BioResource Bank, said:

"The NIHR BioResource helps find treatments, cures and develops health tests and public health programmes for people of all ages, gender and race.

"I was delighted to come along and support the launch of this important national initiative in Sheffield.

"Donating my blood was straightforward, and the team’s first recruitment day was well organised and professionally run."

Luke Barron, NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre Operations Manager, said:

"We were really pleased with our first ever BioResource recruitment event, which resulted in 40 recruits to this innovative programme.

"Our aim is to take recruitment as far and as wide as possible, including to community outreach venues, as the NIHR BioResource enables researchers to access a large bank of biological information and linked clinical and demographic data at ease.

"This not only reduces costs and time but speeds up the delivery of vital health and care research."

The recruitment event was supported by trained nurses and clinical trials assistants from the NIHR Sheffield Clinical Research Facility. The team will now look to run more outreach community events, making it even easier for others to donate their samples and contribute to improving health and wellbeing for everyone.