IDIBGI Horizontal Ageing Program: Deeply Phenotyped Population Cohorts & Multimodal Data

IDIBGI Horizontal Aging Program: Longitudinal Cohorts, Multi-Omics and Real-World Data for Health Research

The Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI, Spain) seeks participation in Horizon Europe and other international research consortia as a scientific partner contributing unique longitudinal population cohorts, multimodal data resources, biological samples, and expertise in aging and non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Key Asset: Population-Based Longitudinal Cohorts

The IDIBGI Horizontal Aging Program comprises three population-based cohorts representing the general population across the lifespan, with more than 3,500 participants deeply characterized through harmonized protocols.

The cohorts integrate:
• Longitudinal clinical and epidemiological data
• Whole-body MRI and imaging-derived phenotypes
• Cognitive and mental health assessments
• Lifestyle, nutrition, sleep and environmental exposure data
• Comprehensive cardiovascular and metabolic phenotyping
• Biological samples stored in the IDIBGI Biobank
• Existing multi-omics data, including plasma metabolomics and shotgun metagenomic sequencing

All cohorts operate under approved ethical protocols and support future follow-up activities.

Unique Added Value for Horizon Europe Consortia

Unlike conventional cross-sectional cohorts, the IDIBGI Horizontal Aging Program provides a framework for prospective, longitudinal research focused on disease risk prediction, biomarker discovery, disease progression and treatment response.

Key strengths include:

Prospective Longitudinal Design

Baseline data were acquired before disease onset in largely healthy individuals from the general population, creating an exceptional resource for identifying early biological signatures associated with future health outcomes.

Electronic Health Record Integration

The program is actively advancing the integration of regional electronic health records into the cohort infrastructure, with the aim of enabling long-term follow-up and supporting future real-world evidence studies on disease trajectories, multimorbidity, healthcare utilization and clinical outcomes.

Participant Re-contact Capacity

The cohort infrastructure has been designed to support participant re-contact initiatives, facilitating the collection of additional biological samples and the implementation of longitudinal follow-up studies when required by collaborative research projects.

Deep Multimodal Phenotyping

The combination of imaging, clinical, cognitive, omics, environmental and molecular data creates a highly valuable resource for multimodal analyses, AI applications and predictive modelling.

Relevance for Horizon Europe Health Topics

The program is particularly relevant for projects addressing:

• AI-driven predictive biomarkers
• Disease progression modelling
• Prediction of treatment response
• Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
• Healthy ageing and multimorbidity
• Precision prevention and early diagnosis
• Neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline
• Cardiovascular and metabolic disorders
• Population health research
• Real-world data and evidence generation
• Innovative healthcare interventions
• Clinical validation studies
• Digital health and data-driven healthcare
• Multi-modal machine learning approaches
• Federated and interoperable health data infrastructures

Data Interoperability and AI Readiness

The IDIBGI Horizontal Aging Program has a strong interest in participating in consortia focused on health data interoperability, secondary use of health data and AI-enabled research infrastructures.

Our team is committed to the adoption of international standards, common vocabularies and FAIR principles to maximize data reuse and cross-cohort integration. We are particularly interested in collaborative initiatives involving common data models, semantic interoperability, harmonization of clinical and omics datasets, and the development of AI-ready research environments for large-scale population health studies.

Partner Profile

We are seeking collaborations with coordinators and consortium builders requiring:

• Population-based longitudinal cohorts
• Deep phenotyping infrastructures
• Multi-omics resources
• Whole-body imaging datasets
• Biological sample repositories
• Real-world health data integration
• Expertise in ageing and NCD research
• Support for biomarker discovery and validation
• Resources for AI and predictive modelling studies

Contact: aging@idibgi.org
Web: https://idibgi.org/en/projectes-transversals/