NIHR SMILE BioResource
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Severe Mental Illness Longitudinal Evaluation (SMILE) BioResource – part of the NIHR BioResource
IRAS ID
350558
Contact name
Rachel Upthegrove
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford/ Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance
Duration of Study in the UK
12 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
The NIHR Severe Mental Illness Longitudinal Evaluation (SMILE) BioResource is a collaborative project between the NIHR, the University of Oxford, Cardiff University, King’s College London and the University of Birmingham for the Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration (MH-TRC). Severe Mental Illness (SMI) is a term that includes mental health disorders such as psychosis spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders, and severe mood disorders with psychotic symptoms. We do not understand enough about the causes of SMI, whether diagnostic structures are biologically valid, and how best to target new treatments.
Data collection for the SMILE BioResource will take place in the company of a trained research nurse/ clinical researcher. A trained research nurse/ clinical researcher will collect a blood or saliva sample, questionnaire data, responses to a cognitive task, and medical notes from people with SMI to create a resource to support studies investigating biological, social, and environment factors that influence the risk of a person experiencing SMI, and the symptoms they have. Patients with SMI will be invited to consent to:
- donating either a blood sample or a saliva sample at a routine clinical appointment
- completing self-report measures of symptoms and a Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire
- relevant information being gathered from their health records, and other records by the treating team
- contact for recall to future studies based on their data and biological sampleREC name
Wales REC 2
REC reference
25/WA/0202
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion