Roger Brownsword appointed Chairman of UK Biobank Ethics and Governance Council
Professor Roger Brownsword has been appointed as Chairman of the UK Biobank Ethics and Governance Council. He replaces Professor Graeme Laurie, who finished his four-year term at the end of 2010.
The Ethics and Governance Council (EGC) was established in 2004 as an independent body to advise UK Biobank on rigorous standards of ethical, legal and social consideration, as set out in the project's Ethics and Governance Framework. The Council also reports publicly on the conformance of UK Biobank's activities with the Framework and with the interests of participants and the public.
From September 2003 until his retirement in 2010, Roger Brownsword was Professor of Law at King’s College London. In 2001-02 he acted as a specialist adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on Stem Cells and, more recently, to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee for its report on hybrids and chimeras in 2007. He is an Honorary Professor in Law at the University of Sheffield and served as a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics from 2004 to 2010.
Commenting on his appointment, Professor Roger Brownsword said: "The EGC has played a key role in building a robust and ethically sensitive governance framework for the operation of UK Biobank. As we enter a new and important phase of the research, it is vital that governance is geared to maintaining the trust and confidence of UK Biobank's stakeholders, not least the trust and confidence of the 500 000 participants. I am looking forward to joining the EGC at this challenging time."
Professor Sir Rory Collins, UK Biobank's Principal Investigator, said: "Professor Brownsword's appointment coincides with a very exciting phase of the UK Biobank project: the completion of recruitment of half a million participants, and the opening of the resource to pioneering health research. His expertise in law and bioethics will be crucial in helping us ensure the resource meets its goal to improve the health of future generations."
UK Biobank is a long-term project to build a resource for research to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness and the promotion of health. The independent Ethics and Governance Council is funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council.
About UK Biobank
UK Biobank is the world's most detailed resource for the study of the role of nature and nurture in health and disease. The project has recruited 500,000 volunteers, aged 40-69, who have completed lifestyle questionnaires and provided blood samples for DNA and other analysis. This information, together with their medical histories, will be combined to create an anonymised national database - UK Biobank. This will serve as a resource for scientists to investigate and determine the factors that cause the common disorders of later life, such as heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's disease and type 2 diabetes.
National and international experts in the field have rigorously and independently reviewed the science of the project, which has the support of a number of leading research charities. It is being funded jointly by the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council, the Department of Health, the Scottish Government, the Northwest Regional Development Agency, the Welsh Assembly Government and the British Heart Foundation.
UK Biobank is governed by an Ethics and Governance Framework and its activities are monitored by an independent Ethics and Governance Council to help look after the interests of participants and the public.
About the Medical Research Council
For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest-quality science. The MRC invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and provides the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs, including one of the first antibiotics, penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC-funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century.
About the Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust’s breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests.