Australian Human Microbiome Biobank
Each of us is home to trillions of microorganisms that play an important role in our health and wellbeing, but our understanding of how they do this remains limited.
We want to study these microorganisms so that we can understand the ways they influence our health, and how they can be used to treat disease. To do this, we are building the Australian Human Microbiome Biobank – a collection of microorganisms that live in and on the human body.
What is a biobank?
A biobank is a collection of biological material that is donated by individuals and stored long-term for health and medical research.
Unlike other human biobanks, the AHMB will be a collection of microbial cells collected from across the human body; no human cells or DNA will be studied or kept for future research.
12,500 microbes collected so far
48.93% are previously uncultured
Why should I donate?
Biobanks are a critical part of research that can benefit all of us. We now know that the human microbiome is linked to a range of chronic health conditions, such as inflammatory disorders, metabolic disease, and even mental health conditions.
By donating a sample, you will help scientists across Australia develop new treatment strategies to improve human health.
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