Biospecimen Core

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BIOSPECIMEN CORE (BIO): PROJECT SUMMARY Aging is characterized by the accumulation of molecular and cellular damage resulting in decreasing cellular functionality. The extent and temporal progression of this damage is a heterogeneous process due to the complex interactions of environmental and genetic factors that can ameliorate and/or exacerbate normal aging. The overarching goal of the Columbia University Senescence Tissue Mapping (CUSTMAP) Center is to focus on key organ systems with vulnerability to age-related degenerative processes; the central nervous system and skin. These systems were selected as they represent organs with prominent adaptive/regenerative ability and heterogeneous cell types that will allow us to investigate the local effects of aging on gene expression signatures and how this impacts upon cellular composition and increase susceptibility to age-related damage and diseases. At the core of the CUSTMAP Center is consistent accessibility to well-phenotyped, high-quality, non-diseased human tissue that has been consented for broad data sharing. We are ideally positioned for this effort through our premier clinical phenotyping and biobanking resources. Through our Biospecimen Core (BIO), we will compile one of the largest multinational cohorts with tissues spanning the lifespan, with comparable and quantifiable clinical correlates, by continuing our prospective collection of comparably phenotyped high quality cases at both the University of Edinburgh and Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Our BIO will bring together a leadership team from diverse clinical and research backgrounds with complementary established expertise in clinical phenotyping and tissue biobanking. The aim of this core is not only to synergize with our Biological Analysis Core to deliver the outcomes of the proposed aims, but also to establish an international framework for a standardized approach to phenotypic tissue banking. Our hope is that by establishing this framework it will enable a higher quality of ante- and post-mortem, human-relevant research to be carried out in this field.