Research
Cambridge BioResource
We have been involved in the development of the Cambridge BioResource. The Cambridge BioResource is a volunteer panel that aims to assist local researchers with volunteer recruitment, specifically volunteer recruitment by genotype and/or phenotype.
Volunteers provide a sample of blood or saliva from which DNA is isolated. After the DNA has been analysed, volunteers with a particular genetic make-up can then be approached to take part in studies that they may be suitable for. The volunteer receives full information about these studies and is then free to decide whether they wish to take part or not. To date, close to 10,000 individuals over the age of 16 have been recruited to the Cambridge BioResource.
As this is a valuable resource for research in the Cambridge area, the running of this facility has now been handed over from the MRC Epidemiology Unit to the NIHR-funded Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) initiative in Cambridge. This has enabled the facility to be available for research with a diverse range of physiological interests.
Volunteers from the Cambridge BioResource have been involved in joint work between the MRC Epidemiology Unit and the University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories looking at the genetic causes of weight-gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders.
Further information on the Cambridge BioResource can be found on their website www.cambridgebioresource.org.uk.
