The UCL BioResource has hit a significant milestone with the recruitment of the 10,000th patient.
Martin Holland, who has been living with Peripheral Neuropathy for several years, became the 10,000th volunteer and spoke to the BRC about why he was happy to get involved.
Martin said: “Having lost my father to dementia and having a daughter living with cancer, I am only too aware of the essential nature of research into various illnesses. In my own case I have Peripheral Neuropathy and have now also had MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance), a non-cancerous condition in which large amounts of a type of antibody are produced in my body, diagnosed as a result of those investigations. I am therefore only too pleased to be able to help future research in any way that I can.”
The research programme has grown in a short period of time since its launch in 2013 and continues to gather DNA samples from volunteers and patients across UCL partner hospitals to help researchers find out how genes influence disease.
Researchers are able to use UCL BioResource to recall volunteers based on their DNA (genotype) and by other factors including gender, age and lifestyle, matching them to appropriate research studies.
So far nine researchers have utilised UCL BioResource for their studies which have ranged from looking at the effects of ageing on immunity to understanding different types of stroke.
This panel of 10,000 patients have agreed for the UCL BioResource to access their healthcare related information for research and to be contacted about opportunities to take part in clinical trials. This provides a remarkable resource for researchers and saves considerable time in finding suitable study participants which ultimately means research can move forwards faster.
UCL BioResource Lead Professor Nick Wood said: “Many, many thanks to every single one of our 10,000 participants for helping to create this unique resource. Without their support this would not be possible.”
