Scientific Development Activities
Scientific development activities aim to promote the use of the NuAge Database and Biobank by Quebec, Canada and international researchers, as well as to enrich the Banks with new research data, from the completion of secondary research projects or as part of a partnership agreement.
Ongoing
Follow-up of the NuAge Survivor Cohort
NuAge has initiated preparations for a fourth and final follow-up with approximately 350 participants from the original cohort who are still alive, autonomous, and aged 87 and older. These older adults, rigorously assessed in terms of nutrition, clinical health, cognition, and functional status, will be visited at home thanks to a specially equipped Mobile Unit designed for research outside traditional research centers. This approach aims to reduce mobility-related barriers and ensure optimal participation. The data collected, combined with medico-administrative information (medical visits, hospitalizations, prescriptions), will help deepen our understanding of longevity trajectories.
Coming
Integration of a new cohort
Renewed funding from the FRQ will enable the integration of a new cohort composed of approximately 600 children of participants, whether living or deceased. By comparing children of parents with exceptional longevity to those whose parents passed away earlier, researchers will be able to study the respective influences of hereditary, social, and environmental factors on aging.
This transgenerational component, which is rare on an international scale, paves the way for groundbreaking research on the intergenerational transmission of health and vulnerability. Blood and urine samples will also be collected from surviving participants and their children. These samples will be used to generate reprogrammed stem cells from urinary cells, which can then be used to create tissues and organoids (lab-grown structures that simulate organs), such as the brain. These models will allow researchers to study the biological mechanisms of aging in laboratory settings, particularly in tissues that are otherwise inaccessible in humans.
NuAge will thus become one of the first biobanks to offer this type of material derived from well-characterized very old individuals and their descendants.
Secure access management and automated extraction
Sustained efforts will be made to facilitate access to data and biological samples through secure digital environments and automated extraction tools. This modernization aims to expand the use of the NuAge Banks, foster partnerships with other major Quebec and international cohorts, and strengthen their scientific and societal impact.
In sum, NuAge stands as a key infrastructure for informing public policy, tailoring care to the real needs of older adults, and supporting aging research in Quebec and beyond.
Finished
Integration of genetics data into the NuAge Database and Biobank
Thanks to the partnership between the NuAge Database and Biobank, the Réseau québécois de recherche sur le vieillissement [Quebec Network for Research on Aging] (RQRV) and Drs. Mark Lathrop and Jiannis Ragoussis of McGill University, the genotypes of 1,276 NuAge Database and Biobank participants were analyzed using Affymetrix’s UK Biobank Axiom Array.
Click here for consulting the array.
As a result, nearly 700,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), as well as DNA and RNA samples, may be stored in the NuAge Database and Biobank to be available to researchers around the beginning of 2023.
Launching of the partnership between the NuAge Database and Biobank and the GAAIN platform (2019-2021)
As part of the funding obtained by the Fonds de recherche du Québec ($1.5M, 2019-2024), steps are being taken to integrate the NuAge Database and Biobank with partners of the American platform Global Alzheimer’s Association Interactive Network (GAAIN). This partnership with GAAIN will combine data from the 1,753 participants of the NuAge cohort with those of 51 other cohorts worldwide through their platform. The tools developed by GAAIN will make it possible to test the feasibility of conducting a research project with the NuAge cohort, combined or not, with other cohorts worldwide. http://gaain.org/.
As part of the funding obtained by the Fonds de recherche du Québec ($1.5M, 2019-2024), steps are being taken to integrate the NuAge Database and Biobank with partners of the American platform Global Alzheimer’s Association Interactive Network (GAAIN). This partnership with GAAIN will combine data from the 1,753 participants of the NuAge cohort with those of 51 other cohorts worldwide through their platform. The tools developed by GAAIN will make it possible to test the feasibility of conducting a research project with the NuAge cohort, combined or not, with other cohorts worldwide. http://gaain.org/.
Call for projects in the framework of an RQRV – NuAge partnership (2019-2021)
The Réseau québécois de recherche sur le vieillissement [Quebec Network for Research on Aging] (RQRV), in partnership with the NuAge Database and Biobank, is launching a call for projects open exclusively to researchers who are active members of the Network (see “News” tab). The primary objective of this call for projects is to use biologic samples from the NuAge Database and Biobank to carry out an original and innovative research project. In the context of the RQRV’s structuring grant program and funding obtained from the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ), the cost of biomarker analyses (max. $60,000) as well as the cost associated with data file and biologic sample preparation from the biobank will be covered by the NuAge Database and Biobank. The proposals must be submitted to the NuAge Database and Biobank by September 30, 2020 at the latest; results of the competition will be available by November 16, 2020.