The 1958 Birth Cohort Biomedical Resource - Facilitating access to data and samples and enhancing future utility. (360G-Wellcome-095219_Z_10_Z)

The 1958 Birth Cohort (1958BC) recruited 17,416 British newborns 3-9 March 1958. A BiomedicalResource (58BMR) was later created by the biomedical survey (Strachan, Power, Bynner[2002/3]) to include extensive questionnaire data, physical measures and biosamples on 1958BCparticipants. The biosamples, stored in ALSPAC laboratories at the University of Bristol, includeblood, urine and saliva (9,000+ participants), DNA (8000+), lymphoblastic cell lines (7,500+). Mostparticipants providing DNA have been genome-wide-genotyped (data held at European-Genome-Phenome-Archive). Other data are held at UK-Data-Archive, managed by Centre for LongitudinalStudies. The 58BMR is used widely by biomedical, social and population scientists nationally andworldwide. 58FORWARDS will maintain and develop the infrastructure for managing, linking andreleasing biosamples/data from 58BMR, facilitating scientific exploitation by makingbiosamples/data readily available for sharing. 58FORWARDS has three aims: (1) Fund andsupport pre-existing procedures and systems that have underpinned the 58BMR for >10 years; (2)Ensure targeted development of key systems and procedures to meet rapid, and understandable,changes in the strategy of national funders regarding infrastructural support for major UK cohorts;(3) Ensure that access to data and biosamples from the 58BMR remains streamlined and securethrough all maintenance and development work.