Zhengming Chen, DPhil
Professor of Epidemiology and Director of China Programmes
University of Oxford
China Kadoorie Biobank
China Kadoorie Biobank
China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB, www.ckbiobank.org) is one of the world’s largest prospective biobank studies ever established. It includes >512,000 adults recruited during 2004-08 from 10 diverse areas across China, with extensive data collected at baseline and periodic resurveys, and with long-term storage of biological samples. To date, >1.0 million fatal and non-fatal disease events of >1000 different types (e.g. stroke, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic liver diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, fracture, cataract and rheumatoid arthritis) have been recorded among participants. These exposure and health outcome data are now being complemented by linkages to environmental exposure data (eg, ambient temperature, ambient air pollution, urban built environment) and by blood assays of genetic (e.g. genotyping, whole genome sequence, mtDNA, methylation), metabolomic (e.g. ~1000 metabolites), proteomic (e.g. ~400 inflammation and other biomarkers) and infectious biomarkers, with many novel findings starting to emerge. The uniquely powerful and rich resources in CKB and other big biobanks will enable scientists from around the world to make many important discoveries relevant to drug target validation, risk prediction, disease prevention and treatment, benefiting populations worldwide.
