Data that can be accessed include genetic data (Genotyping array or Whole Genome Sequencing), Phenotypic data (Health and Lifestyle questionnaire or Clinical), and Metabolomic Data.
Who can apply?
If you are interested in accessing BioResource participants' data for your study, you are welcome to contact us to discuss your study requirements at dac@bioresource.nihr.ac.uk.
NIHR BioResource data holdings
The data available via a BioResource Data Access Application (DAA) are presented in the table below as data types for each BioResource programme. The number of participants was updated in March 2025 and data types refer to stored participant data for Data Access Applications (eligible for data use); in progress refers to data which is currently being generated; *= data available for a subset of the total participants.
WGS = whole genome sequencing; WES = Whole Exome Sequencing; H&LQ = Health & Lifestyle Questionnaire. CRF = Clinical Report Form. Programmes: IBD = Inflammatory Bowel Disease, IMID = Immune Mediated Inflammatory Diseases, CRF MASLD = Clinical Research Facility Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease
Programmes: For more information on the different Rare Disease panels please have a look at Rare disease projects; General population includes volunteers recruited from the public and the NHS Blood and Transplant service (including STRIDES, INTERVAL and COMPARE studies). The table does not include data produced via the Rare Disease RNA Phenotype project.
If you would like to know if our data are suitable for your study, please submit a query to dac@bioresource.nihr.ac.uk.
For patient cohorts, the recruiting clinical team completes a Clinical Report Form(CRF). The CRF provides information about the volunteer and their medical history. Each patient cohort has its own condition related CRF. If you would like to request access to BioResource CRF data, please have a look at some examples of the CRFs used (note these have been updated over time and are only a representation, we may not have all data fields on all participants in a cohort): CRF IBD, CRF IMID, CRF MASLD.
If you would like to know if our data are suitable for your study, please submit a query to dac@bioresource.nihr.ac.uk.
Application process
If you wish to access BioResource data, you need to submit an application using the BioResource Data Access Application (DAA) form. When we receive your application, we will triage it to assess its completeness. Complete applications will be considered for review by the BioResource Data Access Committee (DAC) which meets every fortnightly. Please note that once a meeting reaches capacity for application review any remaining applications will be rolled over to the next meeting. The BioResource DAC must give their approval before any applicant can access any BioResource data. For industry applications, the BioResource Steering Committee may also need to give their approval.
Complete Data Access Applications should be submitted to dac@bioresource.nihr.ac.uk
Provision of a well written plain language summary is an essential part of the application and approval process. To avoid delays in your application, you should write the plain language summary using our guidelines to help you submitting a successful application. For detailed information please read our Plain language summaries: Guidance for NIHR Bioresource Applications. Please note that the plain language summary for successful applications will be made public on our “approved studies”.”
Once your study is approved
If your application to the NIHR BioResource Data Access Committee (or Steering Committee for industry application) is successful, you will be required to provide additional documentation, including the signed Data Access agreement. You will be contacted by the BioResource team to complete this process.
When we have received all the post-approval documentation from you, your study will enter the data provision phase. Data provision is reviewed on a monthly basis. A member of the data team will contact you to provide an estimate of the timeline for accessing the data.
Application forms
If you would like to access BioResource data, you need to submit a Data Access Application (DAA), together with a recent CV of all the listed applicants. If you already have an existing approved application and you would like to investigate a new research project, please submit a DAA.
If you already have an existing application and need to add a new applicant, please use the additional application form.
Download Additional Applicant form
If you would like to request additional data to an existing approved application, please submit an additional request form.
Timelines for Data Provision
We aim to process data-only requests as quickly as possible, with a Data Access Committee meeting fortnightly to consider applications.
Once approved, some data access requests can be fulfilled rapidly, others take more time. Please take a note of likely timeframes after Data Access Committee (DAC) approval when completing your application:
Within 2 weeks
- Access to genetic sequence data held at the University of Cambridge’s High Performance Computing facility
- Access to genetic and genomic data held at the European Genome-Phenome Archive (EGA)
Up to 3 months
- Data that requires substantial de-identification before it can be accessed.
Up to 6 months
- Bespoke data that requires substantial processing before it can be accessed. (The time this takes will depend on the type of data requested)
- Requests that seek linkage with e.g. NHS Digital data.
Method of Access
The method of access will be decided by the BioResource, and it will depend on several factors including the data types, the amount of data and the level of security required. Data access methods include in situ (via the High Performance Computing Service at the University of Cambridge or at the BioResource Secure Data Environment) and download.
However, some de-identified research data is available for download too, e.g. genetic data at the EGA.
You can also look at our list of approved researchers and institutions.
How much it cost?
The NIHR BioResource is a not-for profit organisation. More information on costs can be found at https://bioresource.nihr.ac.uk/using-our-bioresource/costs/
Can you help me with my application?
Yes, for help with your Data Access Application or to know if our data are suitable for your study, email us at dac@bioresource.nihr.ac.uk.