Research Studies currently recruiting from the Cambridge BioResource:

"Cambridge Crohn's and colitis gene study" led by Dr Miles Parkes, Consultant Gastroenterologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital. This project aims to identify the genes that are associated with increased risk of Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis by studying DNA and RNA both from individuals with these severe forms of bowel inflammation and from people without these diseases ('controls'). Volunteers will be asked to provide a small blood sample to help with this research. You can view the full information sheet sent to volunteers here.

"Cardiosome Project: genes and mechanisms in cardiovascular disease" led by Dr Willem Ouwehand at the University of Cambridge. The aim of the Cardiosome project is to identify the genes and mechanisms that contribute to the risk of heart attacks. Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in Western societies. The study involves donating one or several blood samples. You can view the full information sheet sent to volunteers here.

"Developmental origins of risk of type 2 diabetes: Tolerance of fasting and IGF-I levels" led by Professor David Dunger at the University of Cambridge Department of Paediatrics. Professor Dunger and his team are investigating whether levels of IGF-I (a metabolism hormone) in the blood are linked to differences in insulin secretion and an individual’s risk of type 2 diabetes. The study involves a period of fasting during an overnight stay at the Clinical Research Facility at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. You can view the full information sheet sent to volunteers here.

"GANDALF study: Genetic variation and altered leucocyte function in health and disease" led by Professor Ken Smith. This study aims to look at the way the immune system responds to stimuli including infectious organisms and immune complexes. In particular, Prof Ken Smith and his team will be investigating how genetic differences between individuals affect the way their white blood cells respond under a number of conditions. It is hoped that a better understanding of how genetic variation affects immune responses will lead to new ways to treat infections, transplant rejection and autoimmune disease.

"Genes and Mechanisms in Type 1 Diabetes" led by Professor John Todd at the University of Cambridge. The purpose of this study is to determine the functions of the genes that cause type 1 diabetes, and better understand its basic causes. This study involves donating a single small blood sample at a time and location convenient to you. You can view the full information sheet sent to volunteers here.

"Coming soon . . ." Studies investigating other autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease.

Previous studies

"An fMRI Study of Frontal Lobe Function in Attention" led by Dr Adrian Owens at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. This study aims to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to disassociate various mental processes, such as strategy formation and cognitive flexibility in an attempt to improve our understanding of conditions such as Parkinsons and Obsessive–compulsive disorder. This study involves performing a number of simple tasks whilst undergoing fMRI scanning and some behavioural testing outside the scanner. You can view the full information sheet sent to volunteers here and you can see more information about MRI scanning here.

"Genetic factors affecting the neural coding of emotional signals in humans" led by Dr Andy Calder at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. This study aims to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to provide a more fine-grained analysis of the particular areas of the brain that are associated with specific individual emotions in an attempt to improve our understanding of the way in which our brains process emotional information. This study involves performing a number of simple tasks, which may include looking at pictures of facial expressions or emotional scenes, listening to sounds, or reading emotional sentences whilst undergoing fMRI scanning and some behavioural testing outside the scanner. You can view the full information sheet sent to volunteers here and you can see more information about MRI scanning here.

"Phenotypes linked to common weight gain/diabetes genetic variants" led by Drs Savage, Farooqi, O'Rahilly, Wareham and Finucane at the University of Cambridge. The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of how genetic variants alter body weight regulation and diabetes risk. The study involved a 3-day visit to the Clinical Research Facility at Addenbrooke's Hospital. Specifically it involved measuring food intake and how much energy the body uses, under carefully controlled conditions, in order to try to identify more effective ways of preventing weight gain and reducing the incidence of diabetes. You can view the full information sheet sent to volunteers here.