We follow the lives of half a million volunteers to learn who falls ill and why, so scientists around the world can create better ways to diagnose, prevent and treat diseases for everyone, everywhere.
Researchers worldwide use our data, tools and support to make discoveries which otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
Our impact
Find out how healthcare is being changed by discoveries made with our participants’ data.
Polygenic risk scores calculate how our genetic makeup shapes our likelihood of developing conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer. Research powered by UK Biobank’s vast amount of genetic data is revealing their promise for personalised healthcare – and their limitations.
DNA from nearly 750,000 people, including UK Biobank participants, reveals genes that make people prone to persistent Epstein-Barr virus infections, which are linked to rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and many other diseases.
News
UK Biobank is thrilled to announce the winner of its inaugural Scientific Impact Awards, celebrating individuals and teams whose research is driving meaningful change in health through the innovative use of UK Biobank data.
UK Biobank has released the final set of data on nearly 250 metabolites – the molecules in our blood produced by our bodies as we go about our lives – in half a million volunteers.
About our data
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Who can use it?
Researchers must go through our approval process to access the data.
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How can I access it?
We make the data available to researchers around the world via our secure cloud-based platform.
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Who are our participants?
Our 500,000 participants were recruited between 2006 and 2010, when they were 40 to 69 years old.
“UK Biobank data is so vast, and so detailed. It has changed the way we do research in human genetics. We are beginning not only to understand the complex genetic basis of a whole variety of devastating human diseases, but also how to better use this genetic information to understand how to predict and treat these diseases.”
Professor Nicole Soranzo, Senior Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute