UK Biobank to move to Manchester Science Park
26 May 2023
The facility will have a state-of-the-art robotic freezer to serve researchers four times faster than currently, following £127.6m funding
UK Biobank, the world’s most significant source of data and biological samples for health researchers, has been successful in its £127.6m bid to the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Infrastructure fund, to move to a new purpose-built facility at Bruntwood SciTech’s Manchester Science Park. The funding will cover a state-of-the-art robotic freezer that stores and retrieves 20 million biological samples that have been donated by UK Biobank’s 500,000 participants. The facility is being developed with the support of our University.
UK Biobank, which provides researchers with unparalleled access to health data from its volunteers, will continue to operate at multiple sites (including Bristol, Newcastle, Oxford, Reading, and Stockport) but its biological samples, laboratories, headquarters and around half of its 250 staff will move from their current home in Stockport, where they have been based for nearly two decades.
“We are thrilled to be moving to a world-leading centre for genomics and data, where we can build on existing relationships with The University of Manchester, the NHS, and global pharmaceutical and data science companies,” said Professor Sir Rory Collins, Principal Investigator and CEO of UK Biobank. “We are incredibly grateful to UKRI for their funding and support which will help increase UK Biobank’s unrivalled work. With this funding it will be quicker and easier for researchers from around the world to conduct vital research into common and life-threatening diseases and enable new scientific discoveries that improve human health.”
Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, CEO of UKRI, said: “UKRI invests in areas of science where we are world-leaders and can have the biggest real-world impact. UK Biobank is already used by more than 30,000 researchers from over 90 countries and each year, as further samples are collected and the dataset gets richer, scientific demand for access to the samples grows. This resource can make a real difference in people’s lives and we’re already seeing how the insights are driving changes in the NHS. Investment like ours cements the UK’s status as one of the world’s true leaders in research and innovation.”
Professor Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor and member of UK Biobank’s Board, said: “I’m very pleased that UK Biobank has chosen to move here as it is yet more evidence of how Manchester has become one of the world’s leading hubs for science and innovation. UK Biobank will be joining the community of stellar research organisations that are already working with The University of Manchester to make a difference across the UK and around the world.”
With the support of our University, Bruntwood SciTech – one of the UK’s leading property developers dedicated to the growth of the science and technology sector - is developing the new 131,000 sq ft Greenheys facility within Manchester Science Park, which sits at the heart of the city’s Oxford Road Corridor innovation district.
Relocation to the Greenheys site on Manchester Science Park provides UK Biobank with new opportunities for for collaboration with multi-disciplinary researchers and industry. It will also offer access to additional talent due to the proximity to leading institutions operating across research, academia, business and the NHS. The move will also support the Government’s ambitions stated in the ‘Levelling Up’ White Paper to increase R&D spending outside the Greater Southeast by over 40% by 2030, whilst retaining UK Biobank in the Greater Manchester area and contributing to the advancement of one of the UK’s most established life science and tech communities.
Over the course of the next decade, UKRI’s infrastructure funding will support:
- Development of the new purpose-built facility at Manchester Science Park
- Replacement of UK Biobank’s outdated infrastructure
- Enhancement of UK Biobank’s data assets
- New links with Manchester’s life and data sciences enterprise system
- Development of a ‘hub’ to engage with new and existing collaborators
The new scheme is subject to planning approval by Manchester City Council. UK Biobank’s relocation is supported by Arcadis, the global built environment consultancy. Bruntwood SciTech’s facility design team is led by BDP Manchester with Silcock Leedham, DW Consulting, Walker Sime and Deloitte.