Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project Functional Genomics Consortium

Background

Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP)

The Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute on Aging (NIA) initiative responding to the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) to fight Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Announced in February 2012, the project is sequencing and analyzing genomes of a large number of well-characterized individuals in order to identify a broad range of AD risk and protective gene variants. The ultimate goal is to facilitate the identification of new pathways for therapeutic approaches and prevention. Analysis of sequences will also provide insight as to why individuals with known risk factor genes escape from developing AD. The overarching goals of the ADSP are to: (1) identify new genomic variants contributing to increased risk of developing Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease (LOAD), (2) identify new genomic variants contributing to protection against developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), (3) provide insight as to why individuals with known risk factor variants escape from developing AD, and (4) examine these factors in multi-ethnic populations as applicable in order to identify new pathways for disease prevention.

For more information about the sequence phases go to the ADSP Study page on the NIAGADS DSS website.

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AG-21-006.html

Please contact the program officers (Marilyn Miller and Alison Yao) regarding RFA and inform National Institute on Aging of your interest in applying. The funding mechanism uses the U01 cooperative research mechanism and the RFA REQUIRES each investigator to notify NIA before applying. Note the earliest due date for grant submission is June 1, 2020 and we urge you to start the process as early as possible to make sure you do not miss any deadlines toward the due date.

Other genomic data resources

The following Excel spreadsheet lists studies and sources with genomic data relevant to the scientific objectives of ADSP. Some of these datasets are publicly available, and some other datasets are managed by their respective data custodians and cannot be shared directly by NIAGADS. To access these datasets, please visit the study websites and follow their instructions.

How to participate

NIAGADS is the designated data coordinating center to support the Functional Genomics Consortium. To apply for funding under this RFA, investigators please do the following:

Please contact the program officers (Marilyn Miller and Alison Yao) regarding RFA and inform NIA of your interest in applying. The funding mechanism uses the U01 cooperative research mechanism and the RFA REQUIRES each investigator to notify NIA before applying. Note the earliest due date for grant submission is June 1, 2020 and we urge you to start the process as early as possible to make sure you do not miss any deadlines toward the due date.
Apply for access to the data collection through NIAGADS DSS so you will have access to the data. ADSP data are from human subjects and require a proper application and review process.
To ensure integrity of the grant application and peer review process, please direct all questions regarding the RFA to the program officers, not NIAGADS. The program officers will review the questions and forward to NIAGADS if NIAGADS needs to be consulted. Per RFA, the applicants should reach out to program officers early so they can direct the applicant to the infrastructure grantees (GCAD, NIAGADS, NCRAD) to set up subcontracts as needed to support their efforts.
See the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page regarding the initiative. Someone else might have already asked your questions and you can find answers there.

You do not have to be a funded investigator to access data or contribute to the overall analysis effort. If you have any non-RFA questions regarding data availability and available resources, feel free to contact NIAGADS directly. Our mission in supporting this RFA is to facilitate community analysis of the data resources and redistribute analysis results and tools developed by the community, and we look forward to working with everyone.

Contact

NIA Scientific/Research Contacts

Alison Yao, Ph.D.
Program Director Functional Genomics of Alzheimer’s Disease
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-827-7264
Email: alison.yao@nih.gov

Marilyn Miller, Ph.D.
Program Director Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease
National Institute on Aging
Telephone: 301-496-9350
Email: millerm@nia.nih.gov

FAQ

What is the role of NCRAD?

The National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD) is the NIA designated biorepository for centralization of biospecimens from dementia related studies, which includes sporadic and familial AD, Down syndrome, FTD, aging and healthy controls. NCRAD banks a broad range of samples including DNA, RNA, plasma, serum, CSF, brain tissue, lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and fibroblasts. Samples are available by request to qualified investigators. Please contact NCRAD at alzstudy@iu.edu, call 800-526-2839 or visit www.ncrad.org for more information.

What is the role of GCAD?

In conjunction with the award grantees, the Genome Center for Alzheimer’s Disease (GCAD) will coordinate development of best practices and common standard workflows for functional genomics data processing and analysis. Once functional data are generated and deposited into NIAGADS for sharing, GCAD will coordinate reprocessing and harmonization of the acquired data.

What is the role of NIAGADS?

Access to data generated by the FGC will be provided through the NIA Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease Data Storage Site (NIAGADS), which will act as a central hub for data storage and sharing. Investigators will coordinate efforts through NIAGADS to generate data that are consistent in presentation to the research community and to support the harmonization of data across the consortium and with other NIA-funded studies.

Who should I contact to set up a subcontract?

Applicants should reach out to the program officers early so they can direct the applicant to the infrastructure grantees (GCAD, NIAGADS, NCRAD) to set up subcontracts as needed to support their efforts.