Bring More Life to Living
The First Biobank of Its Kind
COLS: A Special Biobank for a Healthier Community! COLS, or the Colorado Longitudinal Study, is doing something really important. They’re building a special place to store samples and information from many people’s health. This helps scientists figure out what keeps us healthy.”
COLS is determined to create the world’s most thorough and largest longitudinal or long-term biobank. We collect blood samples and information about your life every year. Scientists from everywhere can use this to learn about diseases, what causes them, and how to stop and treat them.
COLS has four special things that make it really stand out in the world of biobanking:
- We collect and save samples carefully to protect important molecules.
- We gather lifestyle and health info from our participants every year, which is often left out in health studies. We think this can affect health.
- Our participants come from different backgrounds and areas in one state, both before and after they get sick. We believe this is how we really make health better.
- We collect data for a whole decade. We ask our participants to share their information and blood samples for up to 10 years.
COLS Goes Beyond DNA!
Most biobanks focus on keeping DNA safe because it doesn’t change easily. But COLS is different. We use special technology and methods to collect and save not only DNA but also other delicate molecules in blood like RNA, proteins, lipids, and metabolites. This helps us understand more about your health!
Social Determinants
More Than Just Biology! Our health isn’t just about our bodies; it’s also about housing, income, education, and how stressed we are. Besides collecting samples, COLS also gathers info about your health and how you live. This helps scientists study how all these factors affect your well-being
Participants
COLS Needs You Fort Collins! COLS is launching recruitment efforts in Fort Collins, Colorado. We want a wide range of people, with different ethnicities, races, lifestyles, ages, education, and income levels. Later, we will invite more people from different parts of Colorado to join us.
Longitudinal Design
COLS wants to gather things like blood samples, health info, and answers to surveys from you every year for 10 years! Most other places only do it once or twice, and they often only study sick people. But by studying you over time, COLS can find out what might make people sick and how to keep them healthy. It’s all about helping our community stay well!
The Idea Behind COLS
The vision for COLS was conceived by Larry Gold, PhD, a biotechnology visionary and founder of three successful biotech companies. Over his 40-year career, Dr. Gold scoured the world’s biobanks to find high-quality longitudinal biological samples, collected and stored before and after the onset of all diseases. He realized that the resource he required did not exist, which lead to his vision for what became the Colorado Longitudinal Study.
MISSION
Facilitate a paradigm shift in disease prevention, detection, and treatment while advancing health equity.
VISION
Create the foundation upon which unprecedented advances in health and health care will be made.
GOAL
Build the most robust collection of longitudinal biological specimens and associated sociological data in the world to empower research into the broadest spectrum of health challenges.
Our Progress
Our aspirations are big and the path to building the largest and most diverse biobank in the world will inevitably have its challenges. But we know how important our role is in changing the way disease is prevented and treated, and health is maintained and improved. That is why we are doing this!
Chart our progress by clicking on the years below.
Phyllis Wise, PhD, former Chancellor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Interim President and Provost at the University of Washington, joins COLS as bioresearch consultant.
Articles of Incorporation filed with Colorado Secretary of State.
Phyllis Wise, Larry Gold, and Don Elliman Jr. appointed to Board of Directors; inaugural board meeting held.
Phyllis Wise appointed Chief Executive Officer.
Work begins with Spire Digital to create sophisticated data platform.
COLS receives 501(c) (3) status by IRS.
Works begins with access.mobile on COLS participant recruitment and retention strategy and with Colorado Community Managed Care Network on COLS data platform and security.
Alan Rudolph, PhD, Vice President for Research for Colorado State University, joins COLS Board of Directors.
More than $2.6 million is raised from individuals and organizations, including The Anschutz Foundation and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
Work begins with Ashley Brooks-Russell, PhD, at CU Anschutz School of Public Health to develop COLS surveys that will collect participants’ health history and Social Determinants of Health data.
Meredith Guerrero, MS, promoted to COLS Chief Operating Officer.
Ginger Graham, MBA, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, joins COLS Board of Directors.
COLS staff visits Mayo Clinic Biobank and develops partnership with Steve Thibodeau, PhD, to allow Mayo to process and store COLS biological specimens.
Nelson Trujillo, MD, joins COLS Board of Directors.
COLS hires AM Technologies to build secure data platform and user-portal.
COLS collaborates with the Human Performance Clinical Research Laboratory (HPCRL) at CSU to develop project policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging at CSU is chosen as COLS first participant Engagement Site.
COLS protocol is approved by WCG IRB.
First Engagement Site opens in Fort Collins.
COLS increases engagement efforts by recruiting a Community Engagement Manager, Valerie Schultz
Engagement Site is active at the CSU Health and Medical building, at the Center for Healthy Aging