In this episode, our guests discuss the potential of large-scale health datasets to transform research and improve patient outcomes and healthcare systems. Our guests also delve into the ethical, logistical, and technical challenges that come with these programmes. We hear how organisations such as UK Biobank, Our Future Health, and All of Us are collecting rich, diverse datasets, collaborating and actively working to ensure that these resources are accessible to researchers worldwide. Hosting this episode is Dr Natalie Banner, Director of Ethics at Genomics England. She is joined by Dr Raghib Ali, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Investigator at Our Future Health, Professor Naomi Allen, Professor of Epidemiology at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, and Chief Scientist for UK Biobank, and Dr Andrea Ramírez, Chief Data Officer at the All of Us Research Program in the United States. "There are areas where academia and the NHS are very strong, and areas where industry is very strong, and by working together as we saw very good examples during the pandemic with the vaccine and diagnostic tests etc, that collaboration between the NHS and academia industry leads to much more rapid and wider benefits for our patients and hopefully in the future for the population as a whole in terms of early detection and prevention of disease." You can download the transcript or read it below.  Natalie: Welcome to Behind the Genes   Naomi: So, we talked to each other quite regularly. We have tried to learn from each other about the efficiencies of what to do and what not to do in how to run these large-scale studies efficiently. When you are trying to recruit and engage hundreds of thousands of participants, you need to do things very cost effectively. How to send out web-based questionnaires to individuals, how to collect biological samples, how the make the data easily accessible to researchers so they know exactly what data they are using.   All of that we are learning from each other. You know, it is a work in progress all the time. In particular you know, how can we standardise our data so that researchers who are using all of us can then try and replicate their findings in a different population in the UK by using UK Biobank or Our Future Health.    Natalie: My name is Natalie Banner, and I am Director of Ethics at Genomics England. On today’s episode we will be discussing how we can unlock the potential of large health datasets. By that I mean bringing together data on a massive scale, including for example genomic, clinical, biometric, imaging, and other health information from hundreds and thousands of participants, and making it available in a secure way for a wide range of research purposes over a long time period.   Through collaboration and industry partnerships, these programmes have the potential to transform research and deliver real world benefits for patients and health systems. But they also come with challenges ranging from issues in equity and ethics through to logistics, funding, and considerable technical complexities. If you enjoy today’s episode, we would love your support. Please like, share, and rate us on wherever you listen to your podcasts.     I’m delighted to be joined today by 3 fantastic experts to explore this topic. Dr Raghib Ali, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Investigator at Our Future Health. Professor Naomi Allen, Professor of Epidemiology at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, and Chief Scientist for UK Biobank, and Dr Andrea Ramírez, Chief Data Officer at the All of Us Research Program in the United States.   Andrea, if I could start with you. It would be really great to hear about All of Us, an incredibly ambitious programme in the US, and maybe some of the successes it has achieved so far.   Andrea: Absolutely. Wonderful to be here with you and thank for you for the invitation. The All of Us Research Program started in 2016 from