The UK Biobank Ethics Advisory Committee (EAC) provides advice to the Board on ethical issues related to the development, maintenance, and use of UK Biobank, including issues which may have an impact on participants.
Chair of the Ethics Advisory Committee
Dr Nicola Perrin chairs the UK Biobank Ethics Advisory Committee.
Nicola became Chief Executive of Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) in November 2021, having previously been a Trustee of AMRC for five years. Nicola led the policy team at Wellcome for fourteen years, focusing on research base funding, innovation in the NHS, and data sharing.
Prior to that she worked at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the Science Museum. Nicola has had a particular focus on ensuring health data can be used in a responsible and trustworthy way for research, including establishing the Understanding Patient Data initiative.
Nicola is on the Genomics England Board and was awarded an MBE in New Year’s Honours 2020 for services to science.
Two Participant Advisory Group members also sit on the EAC.
Joanna
UK Biobank participant and Participant Advisory Group member
My background is in the law: I have been a senior solicitor in city firms over many years and I have an interest in data and privacy.
While I am excited about the contribution UK Biobank can make to health-related research, I am also concerned that participants’ data is protected and our expectations for the use of our information and samples are met.
UK Biobank’s huge data collection is an incredible research resource and it has such potential for advancing biomedical science, particularly with developments in big data and AI. I am delighted to be one of the half a million participants contributing to it.
Karen
UK Biobank participant and Participant Advisory Group member
I am a registered nurse with extensive experience in many healthcare settings including hospitals, community palliative care, primary care and the justice system, as well as research and education.
I joined UK Biobank because it gave me the opportunity to be part of something bigger; to contribute to a resource that will make a real difference to future health and wellbeing.