Latest news from the Cambridge BioResource Team

We keep in touch with volunteers regularly via a newsletter:

Issue 1 - Autumn 2008

Issue 2 - Autumn 2009

Issue 3 - Autumn 2010

February 2012 research update

This month you may be invited to participate in one of several studies involving Cambridge BioResource (CBR) volunteers.

Our newest study is investigating the mechanisms involved in multiple sclerosis. Other studies that have recently started are investigating topics including arterial stiffness and the brain mechanisms involved in decision making in a social context. Another study we have recently invited volunteers to participate in is a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals that is investigating the strength of connections between nerves in the brain.

There are several other ongoing studies at the moment so we may also be in touch with you about providing a small blood sample to take part in studies investigating diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 1 diabetes, TB and lupus. You can find a summary of all of these studies on our Research Studies page. If you would like to get in touch with any member of our team about participating in a study, please see our Contact Details page.

Patient recruitment to the Cambridge BioResource

The Cambridge BioResource has recently entered an exciting new stage in its development. Until now we have welcomed all new volunteers but have focussed on recruiting healthy members of the public. In order to continue improving the resource that we offer to local researchers we have now started working with clinics within Addenbrooke's Hospital to recruit patients onto the Cambridge BioResource. Patients join in a similar way to other volunteers by providing a small sample and completing the study paperwork. However, as members of the Cambridge BioResource they will offer a fantastic opportunity to researchers who are interested in working with volunteers who are actually affected by the diseases they are investigating. This exciting development will help researchers move closer to understanding these conditions and it has already gained a huge level of interest within the local research community.

img

The Health Research Unit

We recently unveiled our new 'Health Research Unit'. This custom built vehicle has been made possible by a generous grant from the Milly Apthorp Charitable Trust. We are using the Health Reseearch Unit to go into the community and offer people the opportunity to get involved in research. For more details about this exciting new research venture, visit our Health Research Unit' page.





Cambridge BioResource in the news!

img

Star Radio

img

The Cambridge BioResource Coordinator Sarah Nutland has joined the Sunday morning Business Hub team on Star Radio on a couple of occasions. Following a succcesful initial interview, during which Sarah explained the work of the CBR, the Business Hub team invited her back to sign them up. Both interviews can be downloaded as podcasts:

Podcast 12th June 2011 (Sarah's interview is at 36:44)

Podcast 19th June 2011 (Sarah's interview is at 52:10)

Cover story

Sarah Nutland gave a presention about the CBR at 'The Future of the Cambridge BioMedical Campus' event held at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute (CRI). Her presentation can be viewed here.

Following the presentation, Sarah was interviewed by Charlotte Orson from Cambridge First resulting in the Cambridge BioResource being featured as a cover story. You can view the article by clicking this link.

£450 raised for charity

We would like to give a big thanks to Peters Elsworthy & Moore (PEM) Chartered Accountants in Cambridge. 45 members of staff from the company joined the CBR and donated the vouchers they received upon joining to the charity EACH (East Anglia's Children's Hospices). EACH is a local charity that offers support to children with life-threatening conditions, and their families.

We visited PEM for the presentation of the cheque, which Liz Brinsdon received on behalf of EACH from Office Manager Lynn Tilley.

It was a great opportunity for the Cambridge BioResource and PEM to work together to benefit a local charity and the story featured in Cambridge First, Cambridge News and Crier and Business Weekly.

Local MP joins the Cambridge BioResource

The Cambridge News and Crier also featured the story of Dr Julian Huppert MP joining the CBR. Julian is a former research scientist so was interested to find out about the research the CBR is involved in around Cambridge and we really appreciate his help in publicising the CBR.

BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

BBC Radio Cambridgeshire invited the Cambridge BioResource Coordinator Sarah Nutland to take part in an interview along with one of our volunteers. Sarah explained why the CBR is such an important resource and described some of the current studies. It was a great opportunity to publicise the CBR and we enjoyed hearing one of our volunteers speaking so enthusiastically about our research.

CBR blog

One of our volunteers Elaine Westwick is a writer and scientist and writes a blog called 'The Stuff of Life', about nature, nurture and genetic testing. After joining the CBR, Elaine wrote an interesting piece about us in her blog.


Volunteer recruitment

img

The larger the Cambridge BioResource becomes, the more useful a resource it is for researchers so it is vital that we continue to expand. The CBR Team therefore regularly present recruitment stands and visit local companies and organisations to publicise our research and attract new volunteers. If you know of a business or organisation that would be willing to help us publicise our research, we would really like to hear from you.

Clinical Trials Day

Clinical Trials Day is celebrated every year on the 20th May and commemorates the first known example of a clinical trial when in 1947 a Scottish naval surgeon named James Lind conducted a controlled trial of twelve sailors with scurvy.

We were invited by the research team from the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility to join their research display at Addenbrooke's Hospital. We spent a busy day meeting members of the public and recruited many new volunteers to the CBR. The Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility is also seeking volunteers and if you would be interested in participating in their research you can find more information and contact details on their website. Several other research teams were also involved in the day including the Mental Health Research Network, the Comprehensive Local Research Network (CLRN) and the Dementian & Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network (DENDRON).

Thank you for your support!

Many organisations have publicised our research and allowed us to use their facilities and we would like to thank them very much for their support: Cornford House Surgery, Saint Philip Howard Catholic Parish, Friends of Cherry Hinton Hall, Star Radio, John Lewis, Granchester Fair, The Grafton Centre, Pembroke College, Peters Elsworthy & Moore, Cambridge Central Library, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Colonix Medical Limited, Wherry Housing Association, Chesterton Community Association, Hills Road Sixth Form College, the Society of Biology, the University of Cambridge Department of Experimental Psychology, the University of Cambridge Computing Services, the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Anglia Ruskin University, St John’s College, Clare College, Homerton College, Jesus College, Wolfson College and the Open University.


Volunteer Representatives wanted!

We would like to hear from any members of the panel who may be interested in becoming Volunteer Representatives. The role does not involve a large time commitment but periodically you will be invited to represent the volunteer panel in discussions about the use of the CBR and future strategies for its development. It is really important for a Volunteer Representative to be part of these discussions in order to provide a link between the researchers and volunteers. If you think you may be interested, please get in touch.


Cambridge BioResource Open Information Evening

img

We would like to thank all of our volunteers who joined us for the first Cambridge BioResource Open Information Evening. It featured short talks from some of the researchers who have collaborated with the CBR and also gave volunteers the opportunity to meet the team.

At the start of the evening, guests were invited to meet the team over light refreshments and to view poster displays summarising areas of research connected with the CBR. Sarah Nutland, the Cambridge BioResource Coordinator, then gave a brief introduction to the talks and outlined the history of the CBR.

The first talk of the evening was delivered by Professor John Todd who described the changing trends in Type 1 Diabetes over the past few decades. He went on to discuss some of the exciting developments his team have made into understanding the genes and mechanisms behind the disease, as a result of the participation of CBR volunteers.

Dr Willem Ouwehand then discussed his research into the genes and mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. He explained how there are many causes for cardiovascular disease and outlined the focus of his research and the role of platelets.

The final talk of the evening was delivered by Dr David Savage, who has invited many volunteers from the BioResource to participate in his study into the interaction of genes in weight gain and metabolism.

After the talks had finished, guests were invited to join the team for further refreshments and to take the opportunity to discuss any issues of interest to them in more detail.

The team thoroughly enjoyed the evening and felt it was a huge success. More importantly, the feedback we received from guests was overwhelmingly positive so we are hoping to hold similar events in the future.


Featuring . . . the Cambridge BioResource!

The Cambridge BioResource has been featured in various places. Here is a summary of where you may have seen us: