The Biomarker Network supports small pilot projects which are developed in conjunction with priorities set by network members at annual meetings. Persons interested in developing pilot projects should contact Eileen Crimmins or Teresa Seeman.
Ongoing Pilot Projects
Title: Dried blood spot methods for evaluating the regulation of inflammation*
Principal Investigator: Thomas McDade
Specific Aims: Thomas McDade is developing new methods for assessing the regulation of inflammation in dried blood spot (DBS) samples. DBS sampling represents a minimally-invasive alternative to venipuncture that has been recently incorporated into a large number of population- and community-based surveys. The validation of new laboratory methods for DBS samples will expand the analytic options for the large number of NIA investigators who are collecting DBS samples, and who are interested in inflammation as a mediator of diseases of aging. The two main aims are to develop and validate immunoassay protocols for quantifying IL-6, TNFa, and IL-10 at low concentrations in DBS samples and to investigate the feasibility of quantifying glucocorticoid receptor in DBS samples.
* This pilot project is being jointly supported by the USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health and the Biomarker Network.