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Bardhan S, Li H, Tarver E, Schramm C, Brown M, Garcia L, Schwartz B, Mazzucco A, Natarajan N, Walsh E, Ryan L, Pearson G, Parisi MA. The National Institutes of Health INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndromE (INCLUDE) Project: Accelerating research discoveries for people with Down syndrome across the lifespan. Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet 2024; 196:e32081. [PMID: 38197535 PMCID: PMC10939900 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.c.32081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a long-standing history of support for research in Down syndrome (DS). In response to a 2018 congressional directive for a trans-NIH initiative to address medical issues in DS, NIH launched the INCLUDE Project (INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndromE). Reflecting the three INCLUDE components of basic science research, cohort development, and clinical trials, the Project has published funding opportunities to address conditions such as immune disorders and Alzheimer's disease. Due to a steady expansion in dedicated funding over its first 5 years, INCLUDE has invested $258 M in over 250 new research projects. INCLUDE also supports training initiatives to expand the number and diversity of investigators studying DS. NIH has funded an INCLUDE Data Coordinating Center that is collecting de-identified clinical information and multi-omics data from research participants for broad data sharing and secondary analyses. Through the DS-Connect® registry, INCLUDE investigators can access recruitment support. The INCLUDE Research Plan articulates research goals for the program, with an emphasis on diversity of research participants and investigators. Finally, a new Cohort Development Program is poised to increase the impact of the INCLUDE Project by recruiting a large DS cohort across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujata Bardhan
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Huiqing Li
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Erika Tarver
- National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Charlene Schramm
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Marishka Brown
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Linda Garcia
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Bryanna Schwartz
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Anna Mazzucco
- Office of the Director, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Elizabeth Walsh
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Laurie Ryan
- National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Gail Pearson
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Melissa A Parisi
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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