Sheffield researchers boost drive to national DNA programme with senior NHS figures signing up as first recruits
The BioResource is a collaboration between clinicians, researchers, and a panel of thousands of volunteers with and without health problems who are willing to participate in research studies. A bank of genetic information is created by taking a blood or saliva sample from volunteers and using these to help identify the factors involved in specific illnesses and help better diagnose and treat patients, allowing researchers to find solutions quicker and easier than in other trials.
The aim of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) BioResource is to further health research within the UK. It offers researchers a chance to select participants for studies based on genetic make-up or on other characteristics, such as markers in the blood, refining their analysis and increasing the chances of success. The unique panel of participants has enabled researchers from around the world to make significant discoveries.
The Sheffield NIHR BioResource Centre is one of 6 new centres to join 18 BioResource centres nationwide that are helping to further health research within the UK, which so far collectively have a panel of more than 217,000 volunteers who can be contacted to take part in further research studies.
Professor Dame Pamela Shaw, Director of the Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre, was the first recruit. She said “The NIHR BioResource Bank 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.”
The launch took place on December 15th 2023, where the NIHR Sheffield Clinical Research Facility team supported the start of the Sheffield BioResource. Dr David Black, the Medical Director for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was one of the first to make the commitment. He said "The NIHR BioResource Bank 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.”
Following the success of the day, Luke Barron, the 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 NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre aims to recruit 800 people to the BioResource bank a year. Joining the BioResource is straightforward and involves donating a saliva or blood sample and completing a short lifestyle questionnaire. If you are interested in registering your interest in joining the Sheffield BioResource and helping further health research, please email sth.sheffieldbioresource@nhs.net.
Find out more about the NIHR Sheffield BioResource Centre here.