UK Biobank: From Vision to Reality — The History, Evolution, Strengths, and Challenges of a 500,000-Participant Research Resource
How did UK Biobank evolve from an ambitious idea in the late 1990s into one of the world's leading biomedical research…
Biobanking
9 articlesThis analysis compares projects from around the world that collect and store—in an anonymized format—biological samples containing genomic information (such as those derived from blood or tissue) along with associated clinical data (records of illnesses, treatments, etc.), for the purpose of medical research.
Articles in this series
All of Us Research Program: From Its Origins to Today—History, Key Features, Achievements, and Challenges
Explore the history and evolution of the NIH's All of Us Research Program, from its launch as part of the Precision Med…
The Million Veteran Program (MVP): How America Built a Million-Person Genomic Research Initiative, Its Achievements, and Its Challenges
How did the U.S. Million Veteran Program (MVP) grow from an ambitious idea into a research resource involving more than…
BioBank Japan (BBJ): Two Decades of Development, Key Differences from UK Biobank, and Future Challenges
Established in 2003 to advance personalized medicine, BioBank Japan (BBJ) has grown into a major research resource invo…
The Tohoku Medical Megabank Project (ToMMo): From Disaster Recovery to Japan's Genomic Medicine Infrastructure—History, Key Features, and Current Challenges
Born from the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project (ToMMo) has evolve…
FinnGen Explained: How Finland’s National Genomics Project Began, Evolved, and Where It Is Heading
FinnGen has built a genomic research resource covering approximately 520,000 people by integrating Finnish biobanks wit…
Danish National Biobank: Its Origins, Development, Key Features, and Challenges — A Comparison with UK Biobank
Explore the history, development, governance, and challenges of the Danish National Biobank (DNB). Learn how Denmark tr…
China Kadoorie Biobank: How a Half-Million-Person Research Project Began, Evolved, and Faces New Challenges
China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) has followed more than 500,000 people in China for over 20 years. Conceived before UK Biob…
Singapore’s National Precision Medicine Programme and SG100K: From Its Origins to a 500,000-Person Initiative, Key Differences from UK Biobank, and Future Challenges
Explore the origins, evolution, and progress of Singapore’s National Precision Medicine Programme (NPM) and SG100K thro…