HBS

Harnessing the power of collaboration

The Harvard Biomarkers Study (HBS) biobank speeds up research for biomarkers from years to months at a fraction of cost. We believe that when we work together, we can make progress, faster. Therefore, we now are making this treasure trove available to qualified scientists around the world.

HBS is dedicated to the discovery and validation of biomarkers for Parkinson’s (PD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Our mission is to find useful biomarkers that can effectively provide patient diagnosis, assess disease status, monitor treatment, estimate disease risk and generate disease-modifying therapeutics.

HBS is a longitudinal, case-control study that tracks clinical phenotypes and biospecimens from individuals with PD, other neurodegenerative disorders, and healthy controls. HBS was launched in 2007 by Dr. Clemens Scherzer of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Bradley Hyman of Massachusetts General Hospital, and by Dr. Adrian Ivinson of the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center. It is a collaborative effort involving neurologists and researchers from the Harvard community, with a major input from the Memory and Movement Disorders Units at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Our extensive biobank includes biospecimens and clinical data elements from the whole cohort. Biospecimens obtained from the blood biospecimens include plasma, serum, microRNA, RNA, whole blood, human lymphoblastoid cells, and CPT-collected cryopreserved white blood cells for iPSCs and FACS sorting. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and post-mortem brain autopsy are collected from a subset of participants. Clinical data collected for every participant include disease activity and severity, medical history, medication use, risk factor data, family history, co-morbidities, smoking history, and caffeine intake. Also included are standardized tests measuring quality of life, depression, and physical and cognitive function.
 

The following variables and associated data are specific to the HBS study and are available for analysis as part of AMP PD. These variables have not been harmonized across cohorts, but are relevant to Parkinson's Disease research: 

Tables that Reference this Assessment:

• MMSE
  
   

Variable Definition Table:

Clinical data collected for every participant include disease activity and severity, medical history, medication use, risk factor data, family history, co-morbidities, smoking history, and caffeine intake. Also included are standardized tests measuring quality of life, depression, and physical and cognitive function.

Harvard Biomarkers Study Protocol and Biobank
 

1. HBS HIPAA Privacy

All HBS Data are de-identified within the meaning of the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) privacy regulations. HBS Data are owned by BWH and MGH. No transfer of ownership is intended or conferred by operation of this Agreement.
 

2. HBS Study Investigators Acknowledgement

1. Include the following HBS Study Investigators Acknowledgement Section in the manuscript:
   
   “The Harvard Biomarkers Study (“HBS”); (https://www.bwhparkinsoncenter.org) is a collaborative initiative of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, co-directed by Dr. Clemens Scherzer and Dr. Bradley T. Hyman. The HBS Investigators have not participated in reviewing the current manuscript. The HBS Study Investigators are:

   • Harvard Biomarkers Study. Co-Directors: Brigham and Women’s Hospital: Clemens R. Scherzer, Massachusetts General Hospital: Bradley T. Hyman; Investigators and Study Coordinators: Brigham and Women’s Hospital: Yuliya Kuras, Karbi Choudhury, Michael T. Hayes, Aleksandar Videnovic, Nutan Sharma, Vikram Khurana, Claudio Melo De Gusmao, Reisa Sperling; Massachusetts General Hospital: John H. Growdon, Michael A. Schwarzschild, Albert Y. Hung, Alice W. Flaherty, Deborah Blacker, Anne-Marie Wills, Steven E. Arnold, Ann L. Hunt, Nicte I. Mejia, Anand Viswanathan, Stephen N. Gomperts, Mark W. Albers, Maria Allora-Palli, David Hsu, Alexandra Kimball, Scott McGinnis, John Becker, Randy Buckner, Thomas Byrne, Maura Copeland, Bradford Dickerson, Matthew Frosch, Theresa Gomez-Isla, Steven Greenberg, Julius Hedden, Elizabeth Hedley-Whyte, Keith Johnson, Raymond Kelleher, Aaron Koenig, Maria Marquis-Sayagues, Gad Marshall, Sergi Martinez-Ramirez, Donald McLaren, Olivia Okereke, Elena Ratti, Christopher William, Koene Van Dij, Shuko Takeda, Anat Stemmer-Rachaminov, Jessica Kloppenburg, Catherine Munro, Rachel Schmid, Sarah Wigman, Sara Wlodarcsyk; Data Coordination: Brigham and Women’s Hospital: Thomas Yi; Biobank Management Staff: Brigham and Women’s Hospital: Idil Tuncali.”
      

2. Include the following HBS Funding Acknowledgement in your manuscript:
   • We thank all study participants and their families for their invaluable contributions. HBS is made possible by generous support from the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center, with additional contributions from the Michael J Fox Foundation, NINDS U01NS082157, U01NS100603, and the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center NIA P50AG005134.
      
3. Reference a primary HBS publication in your manuscript:
   • Liu et al. (2017). Prediction of cognition in Parkinson’s disease with a clinical-genetic score: a longitudinal analysis of nine cohorts, Lancet Neurology, 16, 620-629. PMID 28629879.
      

HBS Data Transfer Guidelines:

By accepting this Agreement and by using HBS data, Recipient warrants that:

• Neither Brigham and Women's Hospital or Massachusetts General Hospital nor its employees, staff members or agents shall have any liability whether in contract, tort, and statute or otherwise in connection with Recipient’s use of the HBS Data.  Recipient uses the HBS Data at Recipient’s own risk.
   
• Recipient agrees to not sell HBS Data or otherwise use or disclose HBS Data for a commercial, marketing or fundraising purpose.
   
• Recipient agrees to report to Brigham and Women's Hospital and to Federal and state agencies, as appropriate, any use or disclosure of the HBS Data not provided for by this Agreement of which it becomes aware, including, without limitation, any unauthorized disclosure to subcontractors, within five (5) days of its awareness.
   
• All Institution-required approvals are in place for the use of the HBS Data. Such approvals may include, as applicable, Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) approval and approval of the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
   
• All HBS Data is de-identified within the meaning of the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) privacy regulations. HBS Data are owned by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. No transfer of ownership is intended or conferred by operation of this Agreement.