Preserving Biospecimens for a Generation of Researchers

The goal of the Colorado Longitudinal Study (COLS) is to obtain and store up to ten years of annual blood specimens from thousands of Coloradans. The biological specimens will be collected and stored in the most rigorous manner to allow preservation of not just DNA, but also fragile molecules, including RNA, proteins, lipids, metabolites, and small molecules expressed in the microbiome. Accompanying comprehensive information on behaviors, lifestyle, clinical health, social determinants of health (SDOH), and environment will be collected and matched to these biological samples. This research platform will provide scientists with an unprecedented tool to discover the causes of both common and rare diseases – and find new ways to prevent or treat these diseases – by providing biological specimens and data across a community before, during, and after disease development. This will allow researchers to help discover biomarkers of future disease as well as factors that cause disease.

The significance of the research that will result from the COLS biobank will depend on the quality of the biological specimens collected. Since many of the specimens will remain stored in the biobank for many years, it is critical that all aspects of the biorepository are absolutely state-of-the-art and will incorporate any technological advances in methods that are developed in the future.

COLS will partner with a well-respected and experienced biorepository to handle all aspects of storing and disseminating the COLS human biological specimens. The biorepository selected must have  a highly trained multidisciplinary staff with a proven track record, a well-established quality management system, and an outstanding Laboratory and Information Management System (LIMS) and IT support to ensure the successful collection, storage, and dissemination of COLS biospecimens. The biorepository must  provide:

• Capacity to handle hundreds of thousands of human biological specimens
• Modern robotic methods to fractionate, store, and retrieve biospecimens
• Methodology to perform DNA extraction
• Continuous quality control to ensure the long-term integrity of the biospecimens
• Disaster recovery systems to ensure specimens are maintained at consistent temperature and conditions

These design characteristics ensure that the  COLS biobank will be uniquely powerful and remain a resource for thousands of researchers for decades to come.