Biorepository: Healthy Control

Understanding the immune system

What is the Healthy Control Biorepository?

BRI’s Healthy Control Biorepository is a confidential list of people with no immune system disease, who are willing to donate a blood sample and provide health information for scientific research.

People without immune system diseases play a crucial role in BRI’s research. We often compare samples from people with immune system diseases to samples from people without immune system diseases to pinpoint differences. Identifying these differences can help explain how and why immune system diseases happen and lead to new ways to treat and prevent them.

BRI is also leading the Sound Life Project, which aims to create a detailed picture of what a healthy immune system looks like. This includes understanding what changes in the immune system are a typical part of aging and which ones are related to disease.

Participating in research typically involves a 45- minute to -one- hour visit to BRI in downtown Seattle. Our team will collect a blood sample and ask questions about your personal and family medical history. All samples and information are kept confidential. Learn more: Biorepository FAQ

Participate in healthy volunteer research

We are currently enrolling adults and children (ages 1 and older) who do not have an immune system disease. Consider donating to our biorepository to help advance research.
Jane Buckner
BRI President

Jane Buckner, MD

President, BRI; Member; Principal Investigator, Buckner Lab
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By the Numbers

3,022+

Unique volunteers

86,552+

Samples

Labs Studying the Healthy Immune System

Buckner Lab Main

Buckner Lab

The Buckner Lab is focused on identifying the underlying mechanisms by which regulation of the adaptive immune response fails or is overcome in the setting of human autoimmunity. 
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Harrison Lab Main

Harrison Lab

The Harrison Lab studies the mechanisms controlling host-microbe interactions at barrier tissues, primarily the skin and the gut with the goal to understand how these immune cells promote barrier tissue integrity and repair, and to understand how this goes awry during disease.
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Lacy-Hulbert Res Proj Main - Forward Genetics

Lacy-Hulbert Lab

The Lacy-Hulbert lab works to understand how different aspects of the immune system cooperate to identify and combat potentially infectious organisms while preventing immune attack against innocuous microbes or the body’s own self.
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Speake Research Project Main - TrialNet Pathway to Prevention

Speake Lab

The Speake group is interested in advancing clinical research – especially in type 1 diabetes, but also in the context of other immune-mediated diseases.
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Blog Stories

Blog Main Image - 2D Abstract Telemedicine Online Healthcare
December 14, 2021

Inside the Sound Life Project: How BRI is Studying Health to Understand Disease

BRI’s vision is to create a healthy immune system for everyone. But before we can do that, we need to answer a key question: What exactly does a healthy immune system look like?

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Blog Main Image - BRI Researcher Handling Samples Hood
March 23, 2021

A Letter From Our President: Latest Advances at BRI

We’ve been living in a world of COVID-19 for over a year. In the face of a pandemic, BRI’s vision — a healthy immune system for everyone — has become more important than ever. We’re so thankful for the incredible support from you, our community.

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Blog Main Image - EDITORIAL Micah Mansfield
February 28, 2021

How Volunteers Fuel Immune System Disease Research

When Micah Mansfield learned that he could help scientists better understand the immune system through the Sound Life Project, he didn’t think twice about signing up.

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Immuno-what? Hear the latest from BRI

Keep up to date on our latest research, new clinical trials and exciting publications.