Framingham Heart Study & Boston University

We were selected for this project through a peer reviewed process by NHLBI, part of the National Institutes of Health, to participate in the NHLBI-Framingham Heart Study Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Risk Initiative, also known as the Systems Approach to Biomarker Research in Cardiovascular Disease, or SABRe CVD. The research will be conducted in collaboration with Boston University School of Medicine and School of Public Health, or Boston University.

In 2009, we successfully completed the pilot phase of this project and we are currently conducting the first of three case control studies representing phase one of the collaboration. Three related topics will be investigated in the current phase of the research:

• blood-based biomarkers predicting the onset of first major cardiovascular event;

• blood-based biomarkers of metabolic syndrome, a condition comprised of a cluster of ailments, such as increased blood pressure, elevated insulin levels, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels that occur together, which increase a patient’s risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes; and

• blood-based biomarkers corresponding to coronary artery calcium scoring, a widely accepted marker of cardiovascular disease based on a special X-ray exam.

The Framingham Heart Study is a prospective, community-based, family study that began in 1948 among residents of Framingham, Massachusetts, to study the development of cardiovascular disease over time. The Framingham Heart Study has previously provided insights that have led to new clinical paradigms related to, among others, hypertension, lipid disorders, obesity and smoking. The findings of the Framingham Heart Study have been published in over 2,000 scientific articles. This cooperative research program commenced in the second quarter of 2009 and we have successfully completed the feasibility stage of the research. The CRADA contemplates research to be conducted over a five-year period. We have received specimens from the Framingham Heart Study at our facility and plan to conduct the first of these experiments in 2010.