Join Biobank and help advance research
Researchers at Mass General Brigham are studying how genes, biomarkers, and related factors affect people’s health and contribute to disease.
The Biobank speeds up exploration and discovery by housing hundreds of thousands of readily available biological samples and supporting data. Patients can consent to participate in the Biobank while visiting a Mass General Brigham site or online via our Patient Gateway.
Patients who agree to participate will give a blood sample and share their health data. Researchers may use Biobank blood to study particular health conditions or genetic variations. They may also use blood for a control group that compares against other samples.
All collected samples and data enable faster, more affordable research to improve health — for people today and tomorrow.
Individuals of all backgrounds, ages, and health statuses are welcome to join the Biobank. Everyone has the power to make a difference in advancing research at Mass General Brigham.
Join the Biobank
Research at Mass General Brigham
Learn more about Biobank
Biobank samples and data allow for the advanced study of all types of disease and conditions, including psychiatric disorders. Researchers might look at DNA or genetic variants, proteins, or other naturally occurring substances. Or they might be interested in lifestyle habits, medical history, or environmental exposures. All these factors can help researchers understand disease.
Your participation makes it possible for researchers to study the effect of genes, biomarkers, and risk factors on human health.
You can help us:
- Change lives through the power of knowledge
- Lessen the side effects of treatments
- Predict treatment efficacy
- See how behavioral changes can lead to a healthier, longer life
- Study anomalies and risk factors
- Understand, treat, and even prevent chronic and debilitating diseases
We protect your privacy by assigning a code to your samples and health information. The key to the code is stored in a secure file that is kept separately.
The only people who can see your identifiable information are trained staff from the Biobank or researchers with institutional approval. All research requests are submitted in writing for careful review.
Mass General Brigham follows all provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). We also protect Biobank participants under the Genetics Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA).
Mass General Brigham patients aged 18 and older can join the Biobank. Patients at any of our affiliated hospitals and clinics are welcome to participate.
- Step 1: Log in to or create an account on our Patient Gateway.
- Step 2: Review and sign the Biobank consent form, which explains all aspects of your participation in detail.
- Step 3: Complete an optional Health Information Survey. The questionnaire provides researchers with information to help them understand how lifestyle, environment, and family history contribute to disease.
- Step 4: Provide a blood sample linked to your electronic medical record. You don't have to do this right away or schedule a separate visit. We can collect a sample while you're getting blood drawn during a patient care visit at one of our facilities.
Call 617-525-6700 or email biobank@mgb.org if you have any questions about the consent form or your participation.
People who give a blood sample and share health information with the Biobank can have different experiences. For example, researchers might not ever use your sample, or study results from using your sample might take years.
We contact Biobank participants whose samples indicate a medically actionable result. That is, researchers discover that you have a higher risk for a certain medical condition, and there are steps your doctor can take to detect, manage, or prevent it. We may also encourage genetic testing for close family members based on anomalies found during research.
Biobank currently returns results on more than 40 conditions. These results are not entered into your medical record without your consent.
It’s also important to note that participating in the Biobank does not take the place of preventive care or ongoing medical treatment.
Our research coordinators have answered many questions from Biobank participants over the years. We’ve collected those frequently asked questions to help you make well-informed decisions.
The Mass General Brigham Biobank fosters collaboration among investigators, doctors, and patients. It is an enterprise-wide project at the forefront of personalized medicine, with tools to expedite research.
Samples are maintained in an institution-wide repository and linked to clinical data, curated phenotypes, and genomic, biomarker, and survey data. More than 600 studies have used Biobank to support research and improve patient care.
Find out how you can accelerate the translation of scientific discovery into clinical care. Contact biobank@mgb.org today.