The Participant Panel

The Panel plays a vital role in ensuring the interests of participants are always at the centre of everything Genomics England does. Panel members help to guide and advise Genomics England and how genomic medicine is used in the NHS.

Anyone who has donated genomic data to Genomics England’s National Genomic Research Library (NGRL) or has had the consent conversation to do so is eligible to join the Participant Panel. This can be their own data, or on behalf of someone else, such as if they are the carer of someone who is part of the 100,000 Genomes Project, or if they are a parent of a child who has donated their data through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (NHS GMS) or the Generation Study. 

The Participant Panel has closed recruitment for new members. If you have any questions about the Participant Panel, you can get in touch at [email protected].

The Panel meets four times a year for a day-long session. There are usually documents to read or consider before these meetings, as well as some follow-up work afterwards. Some Panel members also sit on other committees within Genomics England and will therefore need to attend those extra meetings. Opportunities also arise to participate in working groups, although these are optional.

The Participant Panel has closed recruitment for new members. If you have any questions about the Participant Panel, you can get in touch at [email protected]

The Participant Panel was invited by the editor of the European Journal of Human Genetics to write an article about patient and participant engagement in large scale genomics projects and the lessons learned. Our article can be accessed here, though it is behind a journal paywall. If you’d like to learn more about it, please get in contact at [email protected].

Panel Chair Jillian Hastings Ward's blog post, detailing what was covered at a recent Panel meeting.

Find out more