The Longevity Consortium

Administrative Core

The Administrative Core has led the development of the first phase of the Longevity Consortium. In the next phase of the Consortium, the Core will

1. develop effective governance and communications within the Consortium;
2. organize rapid and rigorous external review of applications for grants from the Scientific Opportunity Funds and oversee the effective use of these Funds;
3. support the several Consortium committees;
4. implement guidelines about data sharing, public access, and intellectual property;
5. continue to conduct exciting and useful scientific symposia, and
6. develop proposals to study new pathways in human cohorts.

The Consortium is voluntary and not exclusive: we invite investigators involved in research on aging who are willing to participate, share information, and agree to our guidelines. Consortium members are successful investigators from different institutions and, therefore, the organizing principle of the Consortium will continue to be respect for autonomy. The Consortium holds together because it is mutually beneficial to share information and advice, forge new collaborations, and cooperate in development of proposals such as this Program Project. The Consortium will be run by a Steering Committee of Principal Investigators and other members of the Consortium and overseen by an Observational Study Monitoring Board that includes leading scientists and representation from NIH. To speed the process of translation of new basic findings and confirmation of associations in the largest human cohorts, members may apply for limited Scientific Opportunity funds. Proposals will be rigorously reviewed and rated by the external Scientific Review Committee -- more rapidly than possible through normal NIH mechanisms. Dr. Cummings has developed and managed several successful collegial multi-institutional studies. With Dr. Browner, he nurtured the Longevity Consortium through its first phase to forge an effective collaboration. The Consortium is ready to translate fundamental discoveries about longevity into efficient studies using existing DNA and data from many of the world's largest prospective studies of aging.