Recently the Honorable Michael O. Leavitt, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, expressed the nation's appreciation to participants of the Framingham Heart Study. Their many years of dedication has made possible the SHARe (SNP Health Association Research) project, the new state of the art phase of scientific discovery previously announced in the Winter 2007 newsletter. The SHARe project was officially launched with a nationwide presentation in Washington on October 1, 2007. In accordance with the expressed wishes of FHS participants, FHS genomic data have been organized and is being distributed to researchers worldwide by the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute, Boston University and the National Library of Medicine. With the approval of both a SHARe Data Access Committee, as well as the institutional review boards of their local universities and medical centers, researchers are beginning to access and analyze the data. Through this project researchers are able to dig into vast fields of genetic information from FHS DNA and sift though mountains of data from over fifty years of FHS examinations with some of the newest statistical methods. The goal is to find patterns within the extensive FHS three-generational data sets that will unlock secrets to improved health and disease prevention. The possibilities for discovery are unprecedented.

If you have any questions about the SHARe project or any other aspect of participation in the Framingham Heart Study, please contact your participant coordinator or Maureen Valentino at 800-536-4143.