Core H: Religious Orders Study Core

ABSTRACT – RELIGIOUS ORDERS STUDY CORE
The overall goal of the Religious Orders Study (ROS) Core is to support high quality, cutting edge, research
projects on the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and related
dementias (AD/ADRD). The ROS Core will support a wide range of research studies that address several
NAPA milesstones, including, 1) Population Studies; 2) Precision Medicine & Health Disparities; and 3)
Disease Mechanisms, and Biomarkers & Diagnosis. The ROS Core, will 1) recruit, enroll, older Catholic
religious men and women, who agree to annual clinical evaluations, blood draw and brain donation; 2) support
studies: a) of the transition from no cognitive impairment (NCI) to MCI to the earliest stages of dementia; b)
linking risk factors to normality, incident MCI, and incident AD/ADRD; c) of the progression and consequences
of impaired motor function; and 3) facilitate externally funded research that aligns with the recommendations of
the 2017 NIA strategic plan, including studies that: a) recognize the heterogeneity and multifactorial nature of
dementias; b) support extensive molecular profiling to fill the gaps in large-scale human data needed to build
predictive models of disease and wellness; c) employ new research paradigms such as systems biology and
innovative human cell modeling; d) enable rapid and extensive sharing of data, disease models, specimens,
and support open science; e) build multidisciplinary translational teams in virtual and real spaces for these
teams to operate; and f) develop new precompetitive public-private partnerships.
The ROS Core has been in operation since 1994. It supports studies a) of the heteogenety of cognitive aging
and mixed brain pathologies, b) of exensive molecular profiling, c) that employ systems biology and human cell
modeling, d) whose data are rapidly disseminated via the RADC Hub, AMP-AD, and NIAGADS, e) that employ
multi- and inter-disciplinary teams across the country and across the globe, and f) that work in public-private
partnerships in the precompetitive space with AMD-AD and its sister studies. Excluding consortium papers, it
has resulted in more than 650 peer-reviewed manuscripts that have been highly impactful on the field with 4
papers having 1000-1499 citations, 3 with 700-999, and 7 with 500-699. The top 10 papers were cited an
average of 922 times. Further, ROS Core data and biospecimens have been shared with investigators at
nearly all other NIA-funded AD Centers, across the county and north America, south America, Europe, the
middle east, Asia and Australia as further evidence of the value of the resource (see Overall Tables 1-6 and
Resource Sharing Plan). The ROS Core set the standard for harmonization with the Clinical and Latino Cores,
affiliated studies Rush Memory and Aging Project and the Minority Aging Research Study, and with the
Chicago Health and Aging Proect.

Grant Number: 5P30AG072975-05
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: DAVID BENNETT