DNAnexus-enabled UK Biobank Research Analysis Platform Surpasses 5,000 Users in Two Years

 DNAnexus, Inc., the leading provider of cloud-based genomic and biomedical data access and companion analysis software, today announced that the DNAnexus-enabled UK Biobank Research Analysis Platform (UKB-RAP) community has grown to more than 5,000 users around the world. The UKB-RAP was designed to allow researchers to access and analyze the exponentially increasing scale of the UK Biobank (UKB) dataset, which now contains more than 28 petabytes (PB) of biomedical data, making it the world’s largest and most comprehensive resource for researchers looking to advance the understanding of human disease.

Prior to the launch of the UKB-RAP, approved researchers had to download de-identified participant data to conduct their research analyses, requiring significant local storage space, computing power, and technical resources. The UKB-RAP has democratized access to the largest-ever proteomics data release. Later this year, it will also be the access point for the largest-ever whole-genome sequencing data release. The secure and scalable UKB-RAP has helped accelerate both the speed and scale of health-related research, making it more accessible and cost-effective for a broader range of scientists.

“The second year of the UKB-RAP has seen the platform and our community grow tremendously to more than 5,000 users,” said Dr. Mark Effingham, Deputy CEO of UK Biobank. “We are committed to working with DNAnexus as our partner to help democratize access to the world’s largest biomedical database of its kind, allowing researchers around the globe to advance modern medicine.” 

The UKB-RAP has also enabled greater collaboration between researchers around the world by allowing users to analyze multiple data types together and to work on the same research project within the cloud-based platform. Over the past year, researchers have used the UKB-RAP for an increasingly broad range of research interests, from generating new insights related to the development of obesity, to implementation of new methods for rare variant phasing of large-scale genomic data; and towards answering critical research questions, including testing different methods to stratify cancer patients. 

“We’re excited about this milestone and how it demonstrates our commitment to enabling industry-leading science for our global user community,” said Thomas Laur, CEO at DNAnexus. “The team at UK Biobank continues to set the standard for future global health research projects and we are proud to be a part of this collaborative approach that will enable scientists to better understand, treat, and eventually cure many devastating diseases.”

Over the next year, UKB-RAP will continue to host releases for new types of data, add additional tools, and offer more awareness and community events to continue to drive widespread adoption, streamline workflows, and facilitate collaborations.