Most diseases start in childhood, but most health research is carried out in adults. As a result, a big gap exists in our fundamental understanding of how health conditions begin and evolve. D-CYPHR aims to change that.
Together with the NHS, D-CYPHR has achieved a world first for the UK. A health research programme open to all 14 million children and young people aged 0 to 15 years to help drive real change through health research.
For the first time any family in the UK can help transform health through research.
This is the subject of one of the highlight online talks at the Cambridge Festival: D-CYPHRing DNA and the power of spit, presented by Dr Anna Moore, Assistant Professor in Child Psychiatry and Medical Informatics at the University of Cambridge and Principal Investigator for D-CYPHR.
To join D-CYPHR, each young person answers a health and lifestyle questionnaire and donates a spit sample. By studying thousands of DNA samples together with health information, scientists can begin to see the big picture of how our genes and our environment influence our physical and mental health.
To date thousands of young people across the UK have joined the programme. It is hoped D-CYPHR will provide clues for diabetes, mental health conditions, heart disease, rare and immune diseases, childhood nutrition and many more.
In the future our DNA may help to decipher some of the most pressing health challenges we face. The D-CYPHR programme will help us face them with more knowledge than ever.
Book your place on the talk through the Zoom registration links below: