ABOUT IHCC
Overview
The International Health Cohorts Consortium (IHCC) aims to create a global platform for translational research – cohort to bedside and cohort to bench – informing the biological and genetic basis for disease and improving clinical care and population health.
We are bringing large cohorts together to encourage data sharing, improve efficiencies and maximize benefits in addressing scientific questions none could answer alone. To address the value and challenges of combining large cohort data across borders, we have formed the following working groups:
Our Cohorts
Our member cohorts aim to recruit 100k participants or more, are disease-agnostic, have available biospecimens, and have longitudinal follow-up activities. We recognize, however, that cohorts from under-represented populations and low and middle-income countries (LMICs) may not fit some of these criteria, so exceptions are made to be inclusive as possible.
We are also continuously looking for novel cross-cohort scientific programs from our members. To gather ideas, we periodically open Requests for Ideas (RFIs). Many of the ideas from RFIs include rare conditions, exposures and genotypes as well as consanguinity, founder populations studies and other unique training opportunities that may potentially be addressed by bringing several large cohorts together.If your cohort is interested in joining IHCC, contact us for more information.
Learn More: The International Hundred Thousand Plus Cohort Consortium (IHCC): Integrating Large-Scale Cohorts to Address Global Scientific Challenges (White Paper – Sept. 2019)
Our Mission
To forge cohort connections that revolutionize population health science by providing sustainable data infrastructure, cultivating a collaborative research environment, and promoting policies and best practices that foster connectivity, interoperability, and reciprocity.
Our Vision
A global community of cohorts working together to advance science and improve health for all.
Strategic Plan
View our values, guiding principles, and strategic directions for the next five years.
We are committed to transparency, fairness, inclusion, and diversity in all of our activities and processes. Our governance and policy documents are reviewed regularly to ensure our processes are consistently aligned with the mission and values of IHCC.
History
IHCC was established in 2018 at the request of the leaders of the Heads of International Research Organizations (HIROs) through a collaboration between the Global Genomic Medicine Collaborative (G2MC) and the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH). It was formed after a successful International Cohorts Summit hosted by G2MC in March 2018 at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
The Summit enabled leaders of large-scale longitudinal cohorts worldwide to share best practices, discuss data sharing, explore standards, discuss common challenges, and explore the potential for large(r) collaborative sequencing and other ‘omic strategies. Several teams were created to pursue key issues within IHCC.
