Science secretary announces multi-million-pound boost to UK Biobank

UK science secretary Peter Kyle has announced a £16m boost to UK Biobank’s data resources.

The funding will upgrade the biobank’s data storage capabilities, to ensure it has the required cloud infreatructure to securely manage the information it holds on half a million volunteers.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) will provide around £8m worth of cloud computing credits to support the biobank. 

This contribution will also give the biobank access to other AWS services, including artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The AWS funding will be matched by a further £8m from UK Government investment as part of the public-philanthropic consortium launched last year to ensure the biobank's long-term future.

The cloud infrastructure upgrade will allow researchers open new ways to investigate disease mechanisms, particularly for common diseases of old and middle-age, including depression and cancer.

Visiting UK Biobank today, Kyle said: “UK Biobank is helping researchers around the world tackle some of the biggest health problems facing humanity – from dementia to heart disease – by putting an unprecedented scale of information at their fingertips.

“This research is helping us develop the treatments that will improve and hopefully prolong all our lives.

“This contribution from AWS – matched by government – will mean that UK Biobank has the cloud infrastructure it needs, to underpin such a vast undertaking.

"This is just the start of our plan to work hand-in-hand with industry and academia, to harness the power of life sciences to grow our economy and boost healthcare.”

In October, former chairman for Google, Eric Schmidt,and Citadel chief executive Ken Griffin kickstarted the consortium funding round with a £16m investment, which the government later brought to £32m.

Today’s financial boost will bring the biobank within touching distance of its £50m contributions target.

Professor Sir Rory Collins, chief executive of UK Biobank, said: “This contribution will make our participants very happy as it means the data they have provided can be used by even more researchers around the world.

“This means vital data can be accessed by researchers from less wealthy countries, or who are starting out in research, as well as those at large universities, charities and companies. By bringing together so many researchers, with different viewpoints and questions, to investigate the data, we have a much better chance of helping improve the lives of everyone, everywhere.”

To date, the UK Biobank has allowed researchers from across the world to create ground-breaking healthcare solutions including genetic tests to detect people who have an increased risk of coronary heart disease, which is responsible for 50 deaths per month in Scotland, according to research by the British Heart Foundation.