China-U.S. Research for Healthy Aging Network (CURHAN)
With a rapidly aging population, China currently faces the health challenge of a rising prevalence of chronic diseases, creating dire healthcare and economic consequences. A joint China-U.S. Aging Well Initiative is underway that applies a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach to identify the determinants of lifelong physical, cognitive and emotional health. Modeled after the famed Framingham Heart Study, the China-U.S. Research for Healthy Aging Network (CURHAN) seeks to establish a shared data collection effort that will provide the foundation for a national longitudinal cohort study on age-related chronic diseases.
The Framingham Heart Study led the way in illuminating that the most effective public health strategies for disease prevention and intervention are built around the incident study of chronic disease. Unique to this CURHAN initiative is the integration of conventional epidemiologic data collection methods with novel digital technologies to create opportunities for high precision health-related metrics. The vision is to build a forward-thinking platform with the capacity for long-term surveillance of a mobile society, creating an unprecedented resource from which to identify how to reduce the cost and burden of treating and caring for China’s growing elder population and fuel development of innovative healthcare products and services that will help optimize lifelong personal health.
As we begin the startup phase of this project, we would like to invite researchers interested in the study of non-communicable chronic diseases to join our growing CURHAN family. This network of multinational researchers will work together to identify internationally applicable measures and build functional research protocols for clinical application, to advance scientific knowledge on chronic disease and promote public health solutions for increased quality of life across the lifespan.
List of Protocols:
Interviewers/Technicians Information
Socioeconomic Questionnaire
Medical History
Blood & Urine Specimens
Physical Activity
Sleep Questionnaire
Food Frequency Questionnaire
Environmental Exposure
Cardiovascular Assessment
Depression Assessment
Cognitive Assessment
Digital Tools
Protocol Integration Team:
- Rhoda Au, Ph.D., MBA
Professor of Neurology
Boston University School of Medicine
Senior Investigator/Director of Neuropsychology
Framingham Heart Study
- Ting Fang Alvin Ang M.D.
Master of Public Health Student
Boston University School of Public Health
- Spencer Hardy
Sargent School of Rehabilitation Sciences
Health Science Student
- Margaret Kelly-Hayes, Ed.D.
Boston University School of Medicine
Clinical Professor of Neurology
- Naomi Ko, M.D.
Boston University School of Medicine
Assistant Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Cardiovascular Assessment:
- Jared Magnani, M.D.
Boston University School of Medicine
Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine
- Emelia Benjamin, M.D., MPH
Boston University School of Medicine
Boston University School of Public Health
Professor of Epidemiology
Professor of Medicine
- Joanne Murabito, M.D.
Boston University School of Medicine
Framingham Heart Study
Clinic Director
Associate Professor of Medicine
- Fei Wang, M.D.
Xinhua Hospital.
Associate Chief Physician
Shanghai Jiaotong University
Socioeconomic Questionnaire:
- Andrew J. Wang
Senior Research Associate, Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities,
Harvard University
Research Economist, National Bureau of Economic Research
Physical Activity:
- Karin Schon, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Deparment of Anatomy and Neurobiology
Boston University School of Medicine
- Jing Yuan M.D.
Peking Union Medical College Hospital
Department of Neurology
Sleep Questionnaire:
- Robert Thomas, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Environmental Exposure:
- Elissa Welker, Ph.D.Harvard Medical School
Professor of Medicine
Michael McClean, Ph.D.
Director of Doctoral Training in Department of Environmental Health
Boston University School of Public Health
Associate Dean of research
Food Frequency Questionnaire:
- Paul JacquesGerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman
School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Tufts University
Senior Scientest, Director and Professor
- Chen Wei, M.D.
Peking Union Medical College Hospital
Nutrition and Dietetics
- Chengzheng Yuan
Harvard School of Public Health
Nutritional Epidemiology
- Charlotte Wu, M.D.
Boston Medical Center
Director of Adult Primary Care
Depression Assessment:
- Wendy Qiu, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology
Boston University School of Medicine
Digital Tools:
- Mathew Patterson, Ph.D.Shimmer Sensing
Human Data Scientist
Niamh Mahony, Ph.D.Shimmer Sensing
Lead Applications Engineer
CURHAN Base Protocol Version 1, March 9, 2016