CUB: For Participants
Welcome to the Columbia University Biobank!
Improving healthcare for all through research
What is the Columbia University Biobank?
A biobank is a collection of biological samples, such as blood and urine, along with health data from patients that is collected during their medical care. The goal of a biobank is to provide researchers with a resource to help them better understand, treat, and even prevent diseases.
The Columbia University Biobank (CUB) is available for all Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian (Columbia/NYP) researchers to use to support scientific studies of health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
Who should join this study?
The CUB is open to all patients of Columbia/NYP.
Because our scientific community conducts a wide range of medical research, it is important for the CUB to include patients with all types of health conditions and healthy people.
In order to ensure that results from research studies that the CUB supports can be used to improve the health of diverse patient populations, the CUB is committed to enrolling patients from all ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds.
How can I enroll in the CUB?
Participation is completely voluntary and involves just a few steps:
Review and sign the CUB consent form.
Donate your samples. This usually involves the collection of blood and urine during a routine clinical visit. We also may use leftover samples, like blood that would be otherwise thrown out and is not needed for your clinical care.
You may be asked to complete a brief survey about your health history and lifestyle.
What happens after I join?
Research studies can often take many years to complete, so you may not receive any information about the studies for which your samples and/or data have been used.
Since one of the goals of the CUB is to support the broader Columbia/NYP research community, we may contact you in the future to see if you are interested in taking part in other research studies.
The CUB is a resource meant to serve the Columbia/NYP research community for years, and there are no plans for it to end.
How will CUB protect patient privacy?
Patient privacy is very important to us, and patient samples will never be sold. Coded samples and data may be shared with researchers at other nonprofits or with for-profit companies that are working with Columbia researchers, but no information that could identify a patient will be shared outside Columbia/NYP.
We will only share information that may identify a patient with approved researchers within Columbia/NYP.
How can I be a part of the CUB?
Please email CUBiobank@cumc.columbia.edu or call (212) 305 9941 for more information.