The UCL BioResource is thriving with 130 participants signed up so far and feedback reveals volunteers are motivated by the desire to help research.
Volunteers were asked to fill in an evaluation form and reasons they gave for participating included to “help understand why,” to “advance medicine” and to “progress knowledge of this field”.
The UCL BioResource aims to gather 10,000 DNA samples from volunteers and patients at UCL partner hospitals to help researchers find out how genes influence disease. Researchers will recall volunteers based on their DNA (genotype) and other factors including gender, age and lifestyle, matching them to appropriate research studies.
UCL BioResource, which was launched in April, is one of seven centres in the nationwide NIHR Bioresource project and recruitment began in July.
UCL BioResource Coordinator, Dr Kirstin Goldring explained the timetable: “At the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery we started recruiting in July from three clinics a week – the MS clinic, headache clinic and neurogenetic clinic. We plan to roll out to more clinics at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and then towards the New Year to clinics at UCLH. We are also going to support recruitments from cohorts of HIV patients, Stroke patients, Adult Infectious Diseases patients and AntiSocial Personality Disorder patients”.
The UCL BioResource will be key to research on genes and disease. Participation is open to anyone over the age of 16.
For queries about the UCL BioResource, including how to participate, call 0207 679 6457 or e-mail Dr Kirstin Goldring, UCL Biobank and BioResource Coordinator k.goldring@ucl.ac.uk
