The NIHR BioResource has reached capacity for providing access to our data, and we are therefore currently unable to accept new applications. We will review the situation in January 2025 when we hope to be able to re-open the application process. We are currently updating our application form, and the new form will be available when we re-open. Any applications received when we re-open will need to be on the new application form. Submissions using the old version of the form will be returned.
If you already have an existing application and need to add a new researcher to your study please use the additional applicant form.
Download Additional Applicant form
Please note that applications for samples and recall studies are still being accepted.
Who can apply?
The BioResource welcomes applications from any researcher, including researchers from outside the UK and from academia, charity and industry. As part of the data application, all applicants must submit a BioResource Data Access Application form together with their CV.
Data types available Application process Application forms
Timeline for data provision Methods of access
Data types available
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. Linkage with NHS Digital, Public Health England and ICNARC data has been achieved for some COVID studies.
NIHR BioResource data holdings table (Data types per NIHR BioResource programmes): The number of participants was updated in January 2024 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, NAFLD = Non-Alcoholic Fatty 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 a 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, please use the Data Access Application (DAA) form. If your application has applicants from more than one organisation, you will need to obtain institutional sign off from EACH organisation. Additional institutional sign off can be completed by filling in the Additional Applicant form. The primary applicant is responsible for meeting the conditions described in the data access agreement. The data must be kept secure, only accessed by the primary applicant and any co-applicants listed on the DAA application and only used for the purpose of the study described in the DAA. Our Data Access Agreement must be read before signing the DAA.
To add additional researchers to an existing application, please use the Additional Applicants form.
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 the guidelines we developed 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”.
Application Forms
We are currently updating our Data Access Application form which will be available when we reopen for new applications in 2025.
Download Additional Applicant 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.