Introducing the Cambridge BioResource

Set up in 2005 as a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit and in 2006 the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, the Cambridge BioResource (CBR) has established a resource of volunteers from throughout Cambridgeshire. The volunteers are willing to be approached and invited to participate in local research studies investigating the links between genes, the environment, common diseases and psychological function. Volunteers who join the CBR donate their DNA via a blood or saliva sample and this sample, together with phenotypic data (such as age, gender and ethnicity) also collected at the time of joining, provides a possibility for the selection and recruitment of best matched volunteers to these research studies. In this way, the CBR is able to support researchers with a group of volunteers, tailor-made to the research question at hand.

Since 2007, about 8,000 blood donors from NHS Blood and Transplant (formerly the National Blood Service) have joined bringing the total number of volunteers on the CBR panel to over 9,000. Blood donors were recruited at local blood donation sessions in 2007 (June to October) and 2009 (February to July).

The Cambridge BioResource has become key to the Cambridge success in research on genes and diseases and by continuing to expand its volunteer panel the CBR remains a world-leading resource for researchers.

The Cambridge BioResource, located on the Addenbrooke's Hospital site, is a collaboration between the Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, the University of Cambridge, NHS Blood and Transplant, the Medical Research Council and with additional support from the MRC Cusrow Wadia Fund.

The study has ethical approval from the NHS Cambridgeshire Research Ethics Committee. All data and samples are treated as confidential. Blood and saliva samples are stored identified by a unique bar code only. Volunteers are free to withdraw from the project at any time.

We are still recruiting so if you are interested in joining, please follow the links on the left.

"Bringing together local people and leading research."