Researchers Help Guide COLS Development
The Colorado Longitudinal Study is being built as a precompetitive, open access biobank. COLS biological specimens and health data will be available to qualified researchers, undertaking health-related investigations designed to improve medical care or overall health and quality of life. Approved researchers from academia, government, and commercial companies will be able to apply to access COLS resources.
COLS is designed to meet an overwhelming need expressed by medical researchers around the globe to access longitudinal specimens and health data from a diverse population. Participant biospecimens (blood) matched with personal health, behavior, and environmental data collected over a period of years will provide researchers with an unprecedented resource. Researchers are already proposing studies that would take advantage of the COLS biobank to:
- Identify biomarkers that predict the development of disease years earlier, allowing early intervention to stop the disease from developing
- Identify conditions that lead to poor health in disadvantaged communities, such as specific types of housing, environmental issues, or education
COLS Scientific Advisors
A number of collaborators have provided invaluable expertise and guidance to COLS on multiple issues, such as biospecimen sampling, surveying for social determinants of health, storage of fragile molecules, and much more. We are grateful for their ongoing dedication to this project. Meet our advisors.
How You Can Get Involved
As COLS begins recruiting its first participants and collecting health data, we welcome the involvement of interested medical and public health researchers to provide input on issues such as biospecimen collection, survey topics, and other issues. Likewise, if you are a researcher who sees the value of COLS in your research or proposed research, we would like to hear from you so that we can be aware of any unique needs to incorporate in our program. We also partner with researchers to develop specific research studies and obtain funding for the project.