Central Biorepository Spotlight: Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular Health Improvement Project (CHIP)
The Cardiovascular Health Improvement Project (CHIP) is an active study of the Central Biorepository, a unit of the
University of Michigan Medical School Office of Research, which facilitates discovery and improves healthcare outcomes by providing high-quality, highly annotated biospecimens donated for basic, clinical and translational research.
The unit receives biospecimens and data from U-M contributors and collaborators across a spectrum of medical research. These samples, annotated with clinical and research data, are accessible to members of the U-M research enterprise.
Types of Biospecimens
- Aortic tissue samples
- Plasma
- DNA
- Serum
Population
6,000 participants and counting!
Comprehensive phenotype data are available. Currently enrolling patients with:
- Aortic disease
- Bicuspid aortic valve
- Connective tissue disorders
- Heart failure

Disclaimer: Patients who have multiple diagnoses (TAA, BAV, etc.) are calculated in the total
number of phenotypes more than once.
Access
The Central Biorepository enables access to thousands of CHIP biospecimens from Michigan Medicine patients and offers secure linkage to laboratory and clinical data offered by the Data Office.
Get started:
- Search the Cardiovascular Disease cohort on the self-serve tool, DataDirect.
- Complete and submit a CBR Use Proposal Form available on research.medicine.umich.edu/biorepository and send to CBR.requests@umich.edu.
- With IRB and oversight committee approval, datasets can be downloaded
"CHIP utilizes the UMMSCentral Biorepository because of the high-level management of biospecimens with the capability to perform DNA isolation, subaliquoting, and sample shipment to assist us with downstream sequencing projects and analyses. We have observed high-quality DNA from the Central Biorepository with well-tracked sample management systems.." - Cristen Willer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Cardiovascular Health Improvement Project
CHIP aims to learn more about individuals with aortic diseases and other cardiovascular-related conditions through collecting and analyzing biospecimens and clinical data from patients. By doing this, the team can learn more about the genetics behind cardiovascular disease, provide information to clinicians to facilitate precision medicine initiatives, and develop prevention strategies to delay disease onset.
Questions?
Contact us at CBR.Requests@umich.edu or (734) 647-8809
Hours of Operation: 7:30 am - 4:30 pm, M-F
North Campus Research Complex, Building 60-1661, 2800 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
A list of Central Biorepository contacts is available in the Personnel Directory