Hidden ‘jewel’ is opening door to a healthier future
HIDDEN on an industrial estate in Stockport is one of the most important science facilities on the planet.
UK Biobank collects health data and samples from around half a million volunteers - and it could hold the answers to help us all live longer and healthier lives.
Nowhere else on earth offers scientists so much data of this kind, which researchers around the world use to identify the causes of diseases and work out how to treat them.
It has helped predict Parkinson’s disease in people seven years before it is diagnosed using physical activity monitors like Fitbits and reduce heart disease later in life by offering lifestyle advice to those with high genetic risks.
The NHS has already benefited from projects which have been made possible thanks to UK Biobank.
In a world first, a pilot scheme has been conducted allowing GPs to identify those at high genetic risk of cardiovascular disease in a way that was not possible before.
Big pharmaceutical and tech companies also commission work for the charity to do.
But the day-to-day costs of running the facility are funded by the taxpayer, with the latest investment of £127m helping build a new home for the centre at Manchester Science Park.
Last week, science, innovation and technology secretary Michelle Donelan, visited the world-leading facility in Cheadle Heath, where tens of millions of samples are stored - including 10m tubes of blood.
With a new home to store more samples being built, which has partly been funded by philanthropic donations, UK Biobank will provide more ‘unrivalled’ data on human health and disease faster.
This includes investigating different types of dementia and cancer, allowing for more research into their potential causes and the development of targeted treatments.
It will also provide an opportunity to collect new data to enable research into healthy ageing.
Professor Naomi Allen, who is the chief scientist at UK Biobank, says none of this would be possible without government support.
“The fact that the UK government invested all of this money to set up these sites, which is very expensive to do, has led to huge amounts of investment in the UK life sciences.
“Others are saying, ‘this is fantastic, wouldn’t it be great to do this and invest in that research.’”
According to the latest data, around half of public spending on research and development (R&D) goes to London and the ‘Greater South East’ area.
But in recent years, the government has committed to investing more money into R&D elsewhere in the UK too.
Ms Donelan said that the government wants to use R&D as a ‘tool for levelling up’.
The levelling up white paper published in March 2022 promised to boost public investment in R&D outside of the Greater South East area - which includes London, the South East and the East of England - setting a target of increasing it by a third by the end of the decade.
The University of Manchester’s vice-president for regional innovation, Professor Richard Jones, says investment has increased ‘quite significantly’, but the government must ‘double down’ if it wants to meet its targets on public spending outside of the South East.
“There’s some encouraging things happening,” he said. “It’s not that they’ve done nothing, but there’s more that needs to be done.”
“The Biobank move is really important,” he added.
“That’s something that can really deliver health benefits for everyone.”
The new centre is due to open in 2026 and will house UK Biobank’s biological samples, laboratories, headquarters and around half of its 250 staff.
The cutting-edge 131,000 sq ft building, which UK Biobank will occupy three floors of, will include laboratory space and a latest-generation robotic freezer that stores and retrieves the research centre’s 20m biological samples four times faster than before.
The facility will also be 100 per cent electric and net zero carbon.
Visiting the site of UK Biobank’s new home, Ms Donelan completed the planting of a ‘living wall’ hoarding which will be maintained throughout construction before becoming part of a 7m-high, two-storey green wall wrapping around the building to act as a layer of insulation, increase biodiversity and improve air quality.
The secretary of state said: “UK Biobank makes an unparalleled contribution to science across the whole world, by putting invaluable information at researchers’ fingertips.
“It is without question a jewel in the crown of UK science and an envy of the world.
“UK Biobank’s new home at Manchester Science Park - supported with an accelerated £21m from Government - will mean it has the state-ofthe-art facilities it needs, to keep its place at the forefront of our understanding of human health.”
Dame Nancy Rothwell, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manchester and a member of UK Biobank’s Board, added: “Manchester is home to a globally acclaimed science and technology base and I’m really excited for UK Biobank to join this bustling hub of terrific research organisations, which work closely with the University of Manchester to push the boundaries of science.”