AWS and DSIT help fund biomedical database

Amazon Web Services is to give around £8 million worth of cloud computing storage access to support the biomedical database UK Biobank.

With the funding matched by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), the investment brings the total value of the project up to £50 million, thanks to donations from ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt and hedge fund manager Ken Griffin late last year as part of a public-philanthropic consortium. The government said this new funding, puts the organization's finance efforts within 'touching distance' of the ultimate funding goal.

"This contribution will make our participants very happy, as it means the data they have provided can be used by even more researchers around the world. We are truly grateful for this contribution from Amazon Web Services and the UK government," said Professor Sir Rory Collins, chief executive officer and principal investigator of UK Biobank. 

"This means vital data can be accessed by researchers from less wealthy countries, or who are starting out in research, as well as those at large universities, charities, and companies. By bringing together so many researchers, with different viewpoints and questions, to investigate the data, we have a much better chance of helping improve the lives of everyone, everywhere."

UK Biobank is a database of in-depth, de-identified genetic, health, and lifestyle information from half a million UK volunteers, which can be accessed by researchers worldwide. 

This data is being used to detect cardiac disease earlier and develop tests for Alzheimer's and the early signs of coronary heart disease, amongst other applications. It is also available for approved researchers on the UK Biobank Research Analysis platform, hosted on AWS and enabled by DNAnexus.

UK Biobank also recently acquired the largest-ever set of whole genome sequencing data, the largest-ever proteomic dataset, and the ongoing results of the world's largest imaging study of whole-body scanning.

The new AWS investment will include AWS services, such as AI and machine learning, as well as secure data storage.

"UK Biobank has the largest dataset of whole genome sequences in the world, with data from an aging cohort that is almost 20 years old," said John Davies, director, UK public sector, at Amazon Web Services.

"In using AWS, UK Biobank is able to store this vast amount of health data securely and scale up the data platform quickly and easily, as more data is added in the future. Using cloud infrastructure to store and access data will also help UK Biobank unlock the benefits of more advanced digital capabilities such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, which will further speed up research advancements in healthcare."

Greater Manchester claims to have the largest concentration of biomedical health research in the UK outside the South East of England, with particular strengths in diagnostics, genomics, precision medicine, and digital health.

"UK Biobank isn't just a major asset for Greater Manchester's health and life sciences sector – it's one of the most important health research facilities in the world," Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said. 

"Its database plays a vital role in enabling new discoveries that improve public health, and the work done there shows what can be achieved when academia, the public and private sectors come together and use their strengths to address some of our biggest healthcare challenges."