

How UK Biobank Was Built
8 snips Jun 19, 2025
Join Sir Rory Collins, principal investigator of UK Biobank and expert in health research, as he dives into a fascinating discussion about building long-term scientific initiatives. He shares insights on the challenges of securing support for a groundbreaking database tracking half a million participants over decades. Learn how this massive undertaking has revolutionized health studies and democratized access to invaluable data. Rory also emphasizes the importance of altruism among participants and the necessity of diverse biobanks for comprehensive health research.
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UK Biobank's Long-Term Vision
- The UK Biobank is a long-term project tracking 500,000 British participants for 30 years.
- It creates value over decades by combining genetics, lifestyle, and health data.
Defer Sample Analysis Strategically
- The UK Biobank team deferred large-scale sample analysis until technology advanced.
- This strategic patience made the data useful for a broad range of research.
Focus Now, Defer What’s Later
- Focus initially on essential steps that enable future work instead of trying to do everything early.
- Plan to defer non-essential work until it can be done better and cheaper later.