Research Institutions Collaborate to Build COLS

The vision of the Colorado Longitudinal Study (COLS) is to build the world’s most comprehensive longitudinal collection of biological specimens matched with clinical health and social determinants of health data. These specimens and data will enable researchers to study the complex relationships between lifestyle, behavior, environment, and biology that determine health, leading to unprecedented advances in health, health care, and health equity. Thus far, we are collaborating with a number of institutions, including Colorado State University, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and Mayo Clinic Bioservices. We will be continuing to grow the number of collaborators as COLS becomes more established.

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU Anschutz) is a world-class medical campus that encompasses six schools, including the CU School of Medicine and the Colorado School of Public Health, in addition to UCHealth Hospital and Colorado Children’s Hospital. As one of only a handful of integrated health science campuses in the country, CU Anschutz researchers, clinicians, faculty, and students explore the most critical questions in healthcare with the facilities to support the entire spectrum of research, from the lab to patient application in a single unique environment. As the first in the world to use human cell cloning to study genetics and cancer, CU Anschutz has deep experience in the development of personalized medicine based on disease genetics. CU Anschutz achieves research grant funding in excess of $550 million per year. In addition to providing seed capital to help fund the startup of COLS, Donald Elliman Jr, Chancellor, and Dr. Marilyn Coors, Associate Professor of Bioethics are members of the COLS Board of Directors.

Several prestigious researchers, professors, and staff at CU Anschutz are COLS partners and collaborators, including:

• Dr. Dana Dabelea, Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Pediatrics, Colorado School of Public Health & School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD), is a formal advisor to COLS. She is internationally renowned for her contributions to our understanding of how early life influences the development of childhood obesity. She conducted landmark studies on childhood type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, and perinatal determinants on future risk among the Pima Indians of Arizona and among the Navajo Nation youth. Dr. Dabelea has been advising COLS on recruitment and retention, particularly of minority, underserved populations.
• Dr. Larry Hunter, Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Director of the CU Computational Bioscience Program, is a formal advisor to COLS. Dr. Hunter is an international leader in the development and application of advanced computational techniques to biomedicine, particularly the application of machine learning and statistical inference techniques to high-throughput molecular assays. During his career, Dr. Hunter has analyzed sensitive data from vulnerable populations and his knowledge data integrity is matched by his passion for research and ethical integrity. He advises COLS on data privacy, interoperability, and integrity.
• Dr. Kathleen Barnes, Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director of the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine (CCPM), is a formal advisor to COLS. CCPM is researching the use of genetic information to develop personally tailored treatments and cures for different illnesses and diseases. In addition to her role in leading CCPM, Dr. Barnes oversees a research lab that is focused on discovering genetic determinants of health in people of African ancestry. Dr. Barnes advises COLS on issues relating to biobanking samples and working with health care systems.
• Dr. Ashley Brooks-Russell, Assistant Professor in the CU School of Public Health, oversees the development of COLS surveys that will be given to participants to collect their health history and sociological data. Dr. Brooks-Russell, completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, where she contributed to study design protocols, survey development, and statistical analysis of multiple national studies. She has led numerous primary data collection projects using surveys, qualitative approaches, and biological sampling, including serving as the Principal Investigator of the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, a biennial survey administered to more than 80,000 students in more than 400 high schools and middle schools throughout Colorado.
• Dr. Donald E. Nease Jr., Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Family Medicine, oversees efforts to connect family medicine practitioners more closely to their communities through efforts such as community/stakeholder-engaged research and Bootcamp Translation. Dr. Nease is advising COLS on the use of Boot Camp Translation to utilize the skills and expertise of community members, academic researchers, and medical professionals to reach its goals.

Colorado State University

Colorado State University (CSU) is one of the nation’s top public research universities. It is the state’s land grant university and the flagship university in the Colorado State system. CSU Extension has offices in all 64 counties throughout the state. In 2019 the University reported research expenditures over $300 million for over a decade and a record $398.5 million in FY 2019, with groundbreaking research in infectious disease, cancer, atmospheric science, energy, sustainability, agricultural, and natural sciences and natural resources. CSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is consistently ranked as one of the top two in the country. CSU provided seed money to help fund the start-up of COLS. CSU’s Vice President for Research, Dr. Alan Rudolph is a member of the COLS Board of Directors.

CSU’s Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging is a nationally recognized resource for discovery and application of research on biological, cognitive, psychological, social, and behavioral factors that lead to healthy and successful aging. It will serve as COLS first Engagement Center for participant specimen collection.  Additionally, as a land grant university, CSU Extension will assist COLS with participant recruitment around the state by identifying and communicating with local community leaders, news sources, and public resources.

Leading researchers at CSU who are providing expert guidance to COLS include:

• Dr. Nicole Ehrhart, Professor of Clinical Sciences and Surgical Oncology and Director of the Columbine Health Systems Center on Healthy Aging in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is the first woman at CSU to receive a University Endowed Chair. She is a veterinarian and board-certified surgical oncologist. She was awarded the Ross M. Wilkins, M.D. Limb Preservation Chair in Musculoskeletal Biology and Oncology in 2015. As one of CSU’s foremost experts on translational medicine, Dr. Ehrhart provides guidance to COLS on biobanking for humans and companion animals, which is involved in proposed studies utilizing COLS data. With more than 15 years of experience in collection of tissues and fluids for canine tumor biobanking, she is providing expert advice on the biobanking protocols that COLS will use.
• Dr. Rodney Page, Professor and Chair of Oncology and Director of the Flint Animal Cancer Center. He is the leader of the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. This longitudinal study is one of the largest, most comprehensive prospective canine health studies whose purpose is to identify the nutritional, environmental, lifestyle, and genetic risk factors that influence cancer and other diseases in dogs. He has extensive experience with longitudinal human-pet dog biobanks. As the PI of a longitudinal study with exceptionally high retention rates, Dr. Page has been an advisor to COLS on how to build relationships with people to retain participants over time.