FORCE - Fatty Acids and Outcomes Research Consortium
Background
In 2009, the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium was formed to facilitate genome-wide association study meta-analyses among longitudinal cohort studies. Our new collaborative group, the Fatty acids & Outcomes Research Consortium (FORCE), has been formed within the conceptual framework of CHARGE.
Our Research
Our goal is to understand the relationships between fatty acids from our diet and metabolic processes, measured using biomarkers, on chronic disease outcomes (cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other conditions). We invite all longitudinal studies with fatty acid biomarker data and ascertained events to participate. After joining our consortium: Any investigator from participating studies can propose and lead specific projects/manuscripts Investigators can choose to collaborate or not collaborate on specific projects/manuscripts Raw data from each study will not be centrally collected. Instead, each study will perform its own analysis using a standardized analysis plan and results from participating studies will be pooled for meta-analysis Investigators can provide feedback and suggestions on specific papers/analyses conducted within the pooling project group through regular conference calls (bi-monthly) All collaborating studies agree to abide by the principles set forth by the CHARGE consortium, including: transparency, collaboration, timely communication, effective coordination, and sharing of responsibilities, challenges, and opportunities among cohort members
Strengths of Our Pooling Project Group
The larger sample sizes of pooled analyses will substantially increase statistical power to investigate associations, and importantly, assess potential key effect modifiers, enabling the pooling project to discover important relationships not discernible in any individual cohort Standardization of variable definitions and modeling of associations will reduce variation and potential bias in estimates across cohorts Results will be far less susceptible to publication bias, as included estimates will not depend on prior publication of specific biomarker-endpoint associations
Organizational Structure
Our group is a collaborative effort among all participating cohorts, with administrative coordination at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy, chair D. Mozaffarian.