What are the secrets to a long and healthy Life?

Some families have the good fortune to live very
long lives . . .We want to know about those families!

Welcome to Long Life Family Study

The multicenter LLFS enrolled and studied a unique sample of 4,953 participants in 539 pedigrees in the USA and Denmark which are enriched for familial EL. Through two extensive in-home visits, approximately 8 years apart, these families possess key healthy aging phenotypes (HAPs) in major domains of the aging process (cognitive, cardiovascular, metabolic, inflammatory, etc.)

Further, the measured phenotypes are highly heritable cross-sectionally and longitudinally; however considerable familial phenotypic heterogeneity is present. To better understand this heterogeneity and the why and how these families are protected we will: conduct a third in-home visit with existing participants; recruit and enroll the grandchildren of the proband generation for their initial visit; combine linkage and association analyses to identify rare and lineage specific variants for cross-sectional and longitudinal HAPs and EL and their interaction with lifestyle exposures; perform comprehensive OMICs on LLFS pedigrees to discover biologic mechanisms leading to the heterogeneous familial patterns of HAPs and EL in LLFS pedigrees, and discover additional causal variants. Finally, we will combine all the data using systems biology and data integration to more comprehensively explain the biology of healthy aging.

The purpose of the LLFS is to study families in the United States and Denmark that are ALL enriched for exceptional longevity (EL). EL is a complex trait that is likely influenced by multiple genes with small effects interacting with lifetime exposures. The knowledge gained from studying these families will be in why and how they are protected and thus living exceptionally healthy long lives.

This project is supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging, grant U19AG063893.

Welcome to Long Life Family Study

Reena Karki, RN, MPH

Reena Karki, RN, MPH

Research Coordinator

Contact

Phone: 617-353-2218

Email: reenakar@bu.edu

Dani Raynes-Goldfinger

Dani Raynes-Goldfinger

Research Specialist

Contact

Phone: 617-358-0094

Email: draynes@bu.edu

Stefano Monti, PhD

Stefano Monti, PhD

Computational Biology and Network Modeling

Contact

Phone: 617-414-7031

Email: smonti@bu.edu

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R. Graham Barr, MD, DrPH

R. Graham Barr, MD, DrPH

LLFS Spirometry Reading Center and Training

Contact

Email: rgb9@cumc.columbia.edu

Claudia Trevino

Claudia Trevino

Participant Outreach Coordinator

Contact

Phone: 347-803-5202

Email: ct3114@cumc.columbia.edu

Megan S. Barker, PhD

Megan S. Barker, PhD

LLFS Dementia Review

Contact

Email: msb2228@cumc.columbia.edu

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Kirsten Mona Rasmussen

Kirsten Mona Rasmussen

Nurse

Contact

Phone: +45 6550 3821

Email: Kmrasmussen@health.sdu.dk

Matthew Thomas Keys, MSc, BSc

Matthew Thomas Keys, MSc, BSc

PhD Student

Contact

Phone: +45 6550 3794

Email: mkeys@health.sdu.dk

Qihua Tan, MD, PhD

Qihua Tan, MD, PhD

LLFS Investigator

Contact

Phone: +45 6550 3536

Email: qtan@health.sdu.dk

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Pam Ruffing

Pam Ruffing

University of Pittsburgh Field Site Coordinator

Contact

Phone: 412-383-1306

Email: pcr12@pitt.edu

Dana Winowich, BS

Dana Winowich, BS

Research Assistant

Contact

Phone: 412-383-1942

Email: daw223@pitt.edu

Emma Barinas-Mitchell, PhD

Emma Barinas-Mitchell, PhD

LLFS Co-Investigator; Director of the Ultrasound Reading Laboratory

Contact

Email: barinas@edc.pitt.edu

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