Collaborate and Innovate

The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging is the largest and most comprehensive research platform and infrastructure available for aging research with longitudinal data that will span 20 years from more than 50,000 Canadians over the age of 45.

The CLSA is unique in that it covers all disciplines, from biological, medical, psychosocial, social, and lifestyle to socioeconomic aspects of aging. In addition, the CLSA collects biospecimens for biomarker research from 30,000 participants every 3 years. The CLSA will also be able to link with healthcare utilization, disease registries, and mortality databases.

The CLSA's design and extended follow-up will provide a unique opportunity to examine health transition and trajectories over time as people age, that can be used to develop a wide range of policies for the aging population as well as interventions, treatments, and products.

Data collected from this project is available right now to researchers and is already being used extensively in aging research. Such high-quality data does not exist elsewhere in the world. What are your needs for quality data to inform your research or to support your organization's goals?

The CLSA research platform will enable high-quality research on aging and provide many opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

Research

  • Progression and management of disease and disability
  • Risk factor identification
  • Trajectories of healthy aging
  • Quality of life
  • Co-morbidity
  • Psychosocial aspects of health
  • Genetic and epigenetic aspects of disease and disability
  • Biospecimen and preservation research
  • Biomarker discovery for early detection and management of disease

Outcomes

  • Evidence to inform health and public policy
  • Personalized medicine to improve outcomes
  • Disease and disability treatments and interventions
  • New services and products
  • Methods in aging research
  • Research capacity
  • Healthcare utilization patterns
  • Advanced science of aging
  • Improved health of the aging population 

Infrastructure

  • State-of-the-art facilities:  biorepository and bioanalysis laboratories, fully-equipped data collection facilities and call centres across Canada, statistical analysis centre, genetic and epigenetic centre
  • Innovative and open-source software for conducting multi-centre research
  • Novel hardware design and architecture
  • Secure data management systems to preserve participant confidentiality
  • Collaboration and harmonization with other national and international cohorts