UK Biobank statement on the genetics White Paper, 'Our inheritance, our future - realizing the potential of genetics in the NHS'

In response to the Genetics White Paper, Dr John Newton, Chief Executive of the UK Biobank project said: "The health of future generations depends on the foresight of today's researchers and their funders. The UK Biobank will be among the first and certainly the largest post-genome resource to study the roles of both nature and nurture in health and disease. As a population study, it will be used by the research community to generate the practical intelligence required for 21st century public health strategies. Responsibly run projects like the UK Biobank are essential if we are to make the best use of the human genome information. They will help ensure that the opportunities for public health provided by these new developments are not squandered."

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Shaun Griffin
Wellcome Trust Media Office
Tel: 020 7611 8612
Mobile: 07710 307059
E-mail: s.griffin@wellcome.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

• The UK Biobank is a major UK-based resource that will be used by the world's top scientists to explore the roles of nature and nurture in health and disease. The project will involve up to 500 000 volunteers, aged 45-69, who will complete lifestyle questionnaires and provide a blood sample for DNA and other analysis. This information, together with their medical histories, will be combined to create an anonymized national database - the UK Biobank. This will serve as a resource for scientists to investigate and determine the factors that cause the common disorders of later life, such as heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's disease, and type 2 diabetes. National and international experts in the field have rigorously and independently reviewed the science of the project, which has the support of a number of leading research charities. It is being funded jointly by the biomedical research charity the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council and the Department of Health. Website: www.ukbiobank.ac.uk

• The Wellcome Trust is an independent, research funding charity, established under the will of Sir Henry Wellcome in 1936. The Trust's mission is to foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health. Website: www.wellcome.ac.uk
The Human Genome website: www.wellcome.ac.uk/genome

• The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a national organization funded by the UK tax-payer. Its business is medical research aimed at improving human health; everyone stands to benefit from the outputs. The research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries and the academic world. MRC has funded work which has led to some of the most significant discoveries and achievements in medicine in the UK. About half of the MRC's expenditure of over £412 million is invested in its 50 Institutes, Units and Centres, where it employs its own research staff. The remaining half goes in the form of grant support and training awards to individuals and teams in universities and medical schools. Website at: www.mrc.ac.uk