UK Biobank (core renewal)
Lead Research Organisation:
UK Biobank
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
UK Biobank is supported by The Wellcome Trust, The National Institute of Health Research, The Medical Research Council, The British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK. The figures presented on this record represent the Medical Research Council funding contribution only with some additional UKRI Infrastructure funds in addition.
UK Biobank is a prospective study of 500,000 men and women aged 40-69 years at the point of recruitment (2006-10). The study has collected extensive phenotypic and genotypic detail about its participants, including data from questionnaires, physical measures, sample assays, accelerometery, imaging, genome-wide genotyping and long-term longitudinal follow-up for a wide range of health-related outcomes. The resource is regularly augmented with additional data and is available to academic or commercial researchers world-wide to use for any type of health-related research that is in the public interest. It has been established primarily for the conduct of prospective studies investigating the relevance of a wide range of exposures to health outcomes that occur during long-term follow-up. The ongoing identification and adjudication of increasing numbers of incident cases of the commoner conditions in the resource will support extensive and powerful research into their determinants and the range of diseases that can be studied reliably will widen as the numbers of incident events of different types increase during follow-up over the next 5-10 year period. As a result, UK Biobank provides researchers from around the world with greater opportunities to better understand early disease stages and their diagnosis, and can support the development of new treatments for diseases of mid-to-later life.
UK Biobank is a prospective study of 500,000 men and women aged 40-69 years at the point of recruitment (2006-10). The study has collected extensive phenotypic and genotypic detail about its participants, including data from questionnaires, physical measures, sample assays, accelerometery, imaging, genome-wide genotyping and long-term longitudinal follow-up for a wide range of health-related outcomes. The resource is regularly augmented with additional data and is available to academic or commercial researchers world-wide to use for any type of health-related research that is in the public interest. It has been established primarily for the conduct of prospective studies investigating the relevance of a wide range of exposures to health outcomes that occur during long-term follow-up. The ongoing identification and adjudication of increasing numbers of incident cases of the commoner conditions in the resource will support extensive and powerful research into their determinants and the range of diseases that can be studied reliably will widen as the numbers of incident events of different types increase during follow-up over the next 5-10 year period. As a result, UK Biobank provides researchers from around the world with greater opportunities to better understand early disease stages and their diagnosis, and can support the development of new treatments for diseases of mid-to-later life.
Technical Summary
The UK Biobank resource has been established primarily for the conduct of prospective studies investigating the relevance of a wide range of exposures to health outcomes that occur during long-term follow-up. There are now sufficient numbers of incident cases of the commoner conditions to support extensive and powerful research into their determinants.
There is regular augmentation of UK Biobank’s capability for effective use as a prospective resource by the widest possible range of researchers. This activity has included: streamlining resource access management systems; imaging assessments; an agile response to the SARS-2 Covid pandemic; ‘omics; whole genome sequencing and turning biological samples into genotypic and biomarker data to make the resource more accessible to researchers studying a wide range of different conditions.
During the next few years, it is intended to develop UK Biobank as a UK national infrastructure and the resource will move to new premises at the University of Manchester where sample throughput will be accelerated with new robotics and freezer systems, making more large scale studies possible. UK Biobank will make increasing amounts of genotype and biomarker data available. It will seek to extend cohort-wide record linkage to primary care health; develop other linkages relevant to health; complete imaging assessments on close to 100,000 participants, including repeat imaging on a subset; develop and implement further enhancements (such as metabolomics) and introduce changes relating to participant involvement and to address equality diversity and inclusion. Communications will be expanded to a wider audience to help ensure that researchers from around the world are well informed about UK Biobank’s enhanced capabilities in order to maximise suitable use of the resource over the next few years.
There is regular augmentation of UK Biobank’s capability for effective use as a prospective resource by the widest possible range of researchers. This activity has included: streamlining resource access management systems; imaging assessments; an agile response to the SARS-2 Covid pandemic; ‘omics; whole genome sequencing and turning biological samples into genotypic and biomarker data to make the resource more accessible to researchers studying a wide range of different conditions.
During the next few years, it is intended to develop UK Biobank as a UK national infrastructure and the resource will move to new premises at the University of Manchester where sample throughput will be accelerated with new robotics and freezer systems, making more large scale studies possible. UK Biobank will make increasing amounts of genotype and biomarker data available. It will seek to extend cohort-wide record linkage to primary care health; develop other linkages relevant to health; complete imaging assessments on close to 100,000 participants, including repeat imaging on a subset; develop and implement further enhancements (such as metabolomics) and introduce changes relating to participant involvement and to address equality diversity and inclusion. Communications will be expanded to a wider audience to help ensure that researchers from around the world are well informed about UK Biobank’s enhanced capabilities in order to maximise suitable use of the resource over the next few years.
Organisations
- UK Biobank (Lead Research Organisation)
- AbbVie Inc (Collaboration)
- AstraZeneca (Collaboration)
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Collaboration)
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Collaboration)
- Pfizer Inc (Collaboration)
- Takeda Pharmaceutical Company (Collaboration)
- Bristol-Myers Squibb (Collaboration)
- Biogen Idec (Collaboration)
- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Rory Collins (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Buchanan CR
(2020)
The effect of network thresholding and weighting on structural brain networks in the UK Biobank.
in NeuroImage
Pervaiz U
(2020)
Optimising network modelling methods for fMRI.
in NeuroImage
Taschler B
(2022)
Causal inference on neuroimaging data with Mendelian randomisation.
in NeuroImage
Leming M
(2021)
Deep learning for sex classification in resting-state and task functional brain networks from the UK Biobank.
in NeuroImage
Warrington S
(2020)
XTRACT - Standardised protocols for automated tractography in the human and macaque brain.
in NeuroImage
Fraza CJ
(2021)
Warped Bayesian linear regression for normative modelling of big data.
in NeuroImage
Rolls ET
(2022)
Risk-taking in humans and the medial orbitofrontal cortex reward system.
in NeuroImage
Lemaitre H
(2023)
Genetic variations within human gained enhancer elements affect human brain sulcal morphology.
in NeuroImage
Loughnan RJ
(2022)
Generalization of cortical MOSTest genome-wide associations within and across samples.
in NeuroImage
Cherkaoui H
(2021)
Multivariate semi-blind deconvolution of fMRI time series.
in NeuroImage
Bowring A
(2021)
Confidence Sets for Cohen's d effect size images.
in NeuroImage
Hayashi T
(2021)
The nonhuman primate neuroimaging and neuroanatomy project.
in NeuroImage
Williams CM
(2022)
Comparing brain asymmetries independently of brain size.
in NeuroImage
Rafipoor H
(2022)
Identifying microstructural changes in diffusion MRI; How to circumvent parameter degeneracy.
in NeuroImage
Chormai P
(2022)
Machine learning of large-scale multimodal brain imaging data reveals neural correlates of hand preference.
in NeuroImage
Jiao Z
(2022)
A model-based approach to assess reproducibility for large-scale high-throughput MRI-based studies.
in NeuroImage
Farahibozorg S
(2021)
Hierarchical modelling of functional brain networks in population and individuals from big fMRI data
in NeuroImage
Shadrin AA
(2021)
Vertex-wise multivariate genome-wide association study identifies 780 unique genetic loci associated with cortical morphology.
in NeuroImage
Davenport S
(2020)
Selective peak inference: Unbiased estimation of raw and standardized effect size at local maxima.
in NeuroImage
Schindler LS
(2022)
Associations between abdominal adipose tissue, reproductive span, and brain characteristics in post-menopausal women.
in NeuroImage. Clinical
Pan X
(2022)
Exploring the genetic correlation between obesity-related traits and regional brain volumes: Evidence from UK Biobank cohort.
in NeuroImage. Clinical
Griffanti L
(2022)
Adapting UK Biobank imaging for use in a routine memory clinic setting: The Oxford Brain Health Clinic.
in NeuroImage. Clinical
Topiwala A
(2022)
Alcohol consumption and MRI markers of brain structure and function: Cohort study of 25,378 UK Biobank participants.
in NeuroImage. Clinical
Zhang B
(2023)
Age-level bias correction in brain age prediction.
in NeuroImage. Clinical
Veldsman M
(2020)
Spatial distribution and cognitive impact of cerebrovascular risk-related white matter hyperintensities.
in NeuroImage. Clinical
Lu H
(2021)
Relationships between accelerometer-measured and multiple sclerosis: a 2-sample Mendelian randomization study.
in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
Acosta JN
(2023)
Polygenic Susceptibility to Hypertension and Blood Pressure Control in Stroke Survivors.
in Neurology
Shen C
(2022)
Associations of Social Isolation and Loneliness With Later Dementia.
in Neurology
Traylor M
(2019)
Genetic variation in PLEKHG1 is associated with white matter hyperintensities (n = 11,226).
in Neurology
Peters SAE
(2020)
Sex differences in the association between major risk factors and the risk of stroke in the UK Biobank cohort study.
in Neurology
Rutten JW
(2020)
Broad phenotype of cysteine-altering NOTCH3 variants in UK Biobank: CADASIL to nonpenetrance.
in Neurology
Hamer M
(2019)
Association of body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio with brain structure: UK Biobank study.
in Neurology
Li H
(2022)
Association of Ultraprocessed Food Consumption With Risk of Dementia A Prospective Cohort Study
in Neurology
Lu D
(2021)
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Cerebral Microbleeds: Analysis From the UK Biobank.
in Neurology
Rannikmäe K
(2020)
Accuracy of identifying incident stroke cases from linked health care data in UK Biobank.
in Neurology
Whalley L
(2022)
The Cognitive Costs of Social Isolation.
in Neurology
Furlong MA
(2022)
Association of Air Pollution and Physical Activity With Brain Volumes.
in Neurology
Guo Y
(2021)
Phenotypic and Genotypic Associations Between Migraine and Lipoprotein Subfractions.
in Neurology
Taylor-Bateman V
(2022)
Cardiovascular Risk Factors and MRI Markers of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Study.
in Neurology
Hooshmand B
(2022)
Diabetes and Dementia: Spotlight on Multidomain Lifestyle Strategies.
in Neurology
| Description | Impact of clinically silent atrial fibrillation on cerebrovascular disease and cognitive decline in the UK Biobank Imaging Cohort |
| Amount | £2,474,260 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RG/18/6/33576 |
| Organisation | British Heart Foundation (BHF) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2019 |
| End | 06/2024 |
| Description | UK Biobank - Data Analytics Platform |
| Amount | £20,000,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Description | UK Biobank - The Repeat Imaging Project |
| Amount | £2,500,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | R39738/CN039 |
| Organisation | MRC Dementias Platform UK |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Description | UK Biobank - Whole genome sequencing of 50,000 UKB participants |
| Amount | £30,000,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2018 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Description | UK Biobank- Expansion of the UKB imaging to a 4th centre and repeat imaging assessment of 10,000 participants |
| Amount | £8,500,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2018 |
| End | 12/2022 |
| Description | Biobank Enhancement |
| Organisation | GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | exome sequencing of 50,000 participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | creating vast amounts of genetic data to be used by researchers accessing UKBiobank |
| Impact | exome data |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Biobank Enhancement |
| Organisation | Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | exome sequencing of 50,000 participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | creating vast amounts of genetic data to be used by researchers accessing UKBiobank |
| Impact | exome data |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Genetic enhancement |
| Organisation | AbbVie Inc |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Partnership with Regeneron and GSK to complete exome sequencing of 450,000 UKBiobank participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | The exome sequence of 50,000 UKBiobank particpants were generated through a partnership between UKB, Regeneron and GSK. Regeneron is leading a consortium of biopharma (listed) to complete exome sequencing of the remaining 450,000 participants by 2020. GSK has committed an additional £40 million investment to initiatives, such as UKB, that harness advances in genetic research in the development of new medicines. |
| Impact | The first tranche of data have been incorporated back into the UKBiobank resource for the global health community to use. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Genetic enhancement |
| Organisation | Alnylam Pharmaceuticals |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Partnership with Regeneron and GSK to complete exome sequencing of 450,000 UKBiobank participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | The exome sequence of 50,000 UKBiobank particpants were generated through a partnership between UKB, Regeneron and GSK. Regeneron is leading a consortium of biopharma (listed) to complete exome sequencing of the remaining 450,000 participants by 2020. GSK has committed an additional £40 million investment to initiatives, such as UKB, that harness advances in genetic research in the development of new medicines. |
| Impact | The first tranche of data have been incorporated back into the UKBiobank resource for the global health community to use. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Genetic enhancement |
| Organisation | AstraZeneca |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Partnership with Regeneron and GSK to complete exome sequencing of 450,000 UKBiobank participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | The exome sequence of 50,000 UKBiobank particpants were generated through a partnership between UKB, Regeneron and GSK. Regeneron is leading a consortium of biopharma (listed) to complete exome sequencing of the remaining 450,000 participants by 2020. GSK has committed an additional £40 million investment to initiatives, such as UKB, that harness advances in genetic research in the development of new medicines. |
| Impact | The first tranche of data have been incorporated back into the UKBiobank resource for the global health community to use. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Genetic enhancement |
| Organisation | Biogen Idec |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Partnership with Regeneron and GSK to complete exome sequencing of 450,000 UKBiobank participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | The exome sequence of 50,000 UKBiobank particpants were generated through a partnership between UKB, Regeneron and GSK. Regeneron is leading a consortium of biopharma (listed) to complete exome sequencing of the remaining 450,000 participants by 2020. GSK has committed an additional £40 million investment to initiatives, such as UKB, that harness advances in genetic research in the development of new medicines. |
| Impact | The first tranche of data have been incorporated back into the UKBiobank resource for the global health community to use. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Genetic enhancement |
| Organisation | Bristol-Myers Squibb |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Partnership with Regeneron and GSK to complete exome sequencing of 450,000 UKBiobank participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | The exome sequence of 50,000 UKBiobank particpants were generated through a partnership between UKB, Regeneron and GSK. Regeneron is leading a consortium of biopharma (listed) to complete exome sequencing of the remaining 450,000 participants by 2020. GSK has committed an additional £40 million investment to initiatives, such as UKB, that harness advances in genetic research in the development of new medicines. |
| Impact | The first tranche of data have been incorporated back into the UKBiobank resource for the global health community to use. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Genetic enhancement |
| Organisation | GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Partnership with Regeneron and GSK to complete exome sequencing of 450,000 UKBiobank participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | The exome sequence of 50,000 UKBiobank particpants were generated through a partnership between UKB, Regeneron and GSK. Regeneron is leading a consortium of biopharma (listed) to complete exome sequencing of the remaining 450,000 participants by 2020. GSK has committed an additional £40 million investment to initiatives, such as UKB, that harness advances in genetic research in the development of new medicines. |
| Impact | The first tranche of data have been incorporated back into the UKBiobank resource for the global health community to use. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Genetic enhancement |
| Organisation | Pfizer Inc |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Partnership with Regeneron and GSK to complete exome sequencing of 450,000 UKBiobank participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | The exome sequence of 50,000 UKBiobank particpants were generated through a partnership between UKB, Regeneron and GSK. Regeneron is leading a consortium of biopharma (listed) to complete exome sequencing of the remaining 450,000 participants by 2020. GSK has committed an additional £40 million investment to initiatives, such as UKB, that harness advances in genetic research in the development of new medicines. |
| Impact | The first tranche of data have been incorporated back into the UKBiobank resource for the global health community to use. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Genetic enhancement |
| Organisation | Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Partnership with Regeneron and GSK to complete exome sequencing of 450,000 UKBiobank participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | The exome sequence of 50,000 UKBiobank particpants were generated through a partnership between UKB, Regeneron and GSK. Regeneron is leading a consortium of biopharma (listed) to complete exome sequencing of the remaining 450,000 participants by 2020. GSK has committed an additional £40 million investment to initiatives, such as UKB, that harness advances in genetic research in the development of new medicines. |
| Impact | The first tranche of data have been incorporated back into the UKBiobank resource for the global health community to use. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Genetic enhancement |
| Organisation | Takeda Pharmaceutical Company |
| Department | Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. (TPUSA) |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Partnership with Regeneron and GSK to complete exome sequencing of 450,000 UKBiobank participants |
| Collaborator Contribution | The exome sequence of 50,000 UKBiobank particpants were generated through a partnership between UKB, Regeneron and GSK. Regeneron is leading a consortium of biopharma (listed) to complete exome sequencing of the remaining 450,000 participants by 2020. GSK has committed an additional £40 million investment to initiatives, such as UKB, that harness advances in genetic research in the development of new medicines. |
| Impact | The first tranche of data have been incorporated back into the UKBiobank resource for the global health community to use. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | UK Biobank GP linkage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | UK Biobank event for the General Practice Data for Planing and Research programme (GP linkage). 1,200 attendees |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | UK Biobank Scientific Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The UK Biobank Scientific Symposium included presentations about the successes and future plans of the UK Biobank. It took place on 21 June 2018 in London |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | UK Biobank Scientific Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The UK Biobank Scientific Conference in 2021 had 3,000 participants from the research community, professional practitioners, media, study particiapnts and other partners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | UK Biobank participant imaging event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | UK Biobank for participants of the imaging work |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | UKBiobank participant events - 2014 - 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | UKB Biobank participants regularly attend events aimed at informing them about the work being undertaken with their data. Usually, the events last a few hours and include an overview from the chief scientist and two talks from scientists that have used UKB data. From 2014 - 2020 over 4,000 participants have taken part in events in Edinburgh (4), Manchester (4), Nottingham, Leeds, Cardiff (2), Newcastle (5), Glasgow (2), Bristol (2) and Reading(4). They are often over-subscribed and participants leave these events wishing to seek more information and support he programme in new ways (EG in imaging, genome sequencing) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019 |
| URL | http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk |