Find out about the financial support we offer to those who need it to access UK Biobank data.
UK Biobank is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advancing global health research. We aim to keep access to our database as affordable as possible. Learn more about fees.
To make our data as accessible as possible, we also offer financial support through several funding programmes.
“Researchers should absolutely seize this opportunity to access UK Biobank using its Global Researcher Access Fund! It will propel their research to greater heights, amplify the impact of their work, contribute to global scientific progress, and address pressing health challenges in their community.”
Dr Abhishek Appaji, Associate Professor, BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India
Funding programmes in more detail
1. Students
We offer a reduced access fee of £500 (+VAT where applicable) for data-only requests from eligible student researchers.
Eligibility:
The application must be from a student or their supervisor for the sole purpose of the student’s research project.
It must be for a single research project.
Collaborators can only join once approved and must have a clear, relevant role.
When submitting your application, select the ‘student tier’ option.
2. Global Researcher Access Fund
To ensure equitable access to UK Biobank’s data, this fund covers 100% of the application costs for researchers based at an institute in an eligible lower-income country.
We are grateful to AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, and Regeneron for supporting this programme.
Our Access Team will automatically apply the funding to eligible applications.
3. Platform Credits Programme
UK Biobank offers $500,000 in annual Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits to support early-career researchers and those based at institutes in an eligible lower-income country. These credits can be used exclusively on the UKB Research Analysis Platform (UKB-RAP).
We are grateful to Amazon Web Services for funding this programme.
Types of credits available:
Getting Started Credits – £1,000 per researcher to allow you to explore UKB-RAP in more detail (valid for one year, one request per project).
Enhanced Credits – Additional funding for ongoing research costs, awarded in multiples of £1,000 (subject to approval).
In 2024, UK Biobank moved all research data (with limited exceptions) to the cloud-based UKB Research Analysis Platform (UKB-RAP) to enhance security, accessibility, and capacity.
To support researchers with this transition, UK Biobank provides £1,000 in credits per project to help with platform costs. Additional funding beyond £1,000 may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
We are grateful to Wellcome for funding this programme.
Eligibility:
Open to all researchers who do not qualify for any other funding programme.
