The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) is a prospective study of risk factors for development and progression of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in people aged 65 years and older. The 5,888 study participants were recruited from four U.S. communities and have undergone extensive clinic examinations for evaluation of markers of subclinical cardiovascular disease. The original cohort, enrolled in 1989-90, totaled 5,201 participants. A supplemental cohort of 687 predominantly African-American participants was enrolled in 1992-93. Clinic examinations were performed at study baseline and at annual visits through 1998-1999, and again in 2005-2006. Examination components included medical and personal history, medication inventory, ECG, blood pressure, anthropometry, assessment of physical and cognitive function, and depression screening. Other components done less frequently included phlebotomy, spirometry, echocardiography, carotid ultrasound, cerebral magnetic resonance imaging, measurement of ankle-brachial index and retinal exam. Participants were contacted by telephone annually between exams to collect information about hospitalizations and potential cardiovascular events. Since 1999, participants have been contacted every six months by phone, primarily to identify cardiovascular events and to assess physical and cognitive health. Standard protocols for the identification and adjudication of events were implemented during follow-up. The adjudicated events are myocardial infarction, angina, heart failure (HF), stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), claudication, and mortality.
Cerebellar ataxia, mental retardation, and disequilibrium syndrome (CAMRQ) samples
The genomes of 25 individuals from Papua New Guinea was sequenced to high depth (30x) to address population genetic questions relating to the spread of humans outside of Africa and the peopling of Sahul (the continent of Greater Australia). The study design of this project was to sequence small numbers of genomes from several geographically distinct Papuan groups, focusing on the highland regions that are thought to have been more isolated, to enable comparisons between populations within Papua New Guinea and with Australian Aboriginal populations. Data from this project feed directly into on-going projects on the genetic history of Australia and also serve as a first look at the population genomics of the Papuan highlands.
We aimed to identify genetic etiology of cerebellar ataxia, mental retardation, and disequilibrium syndrome (CAMRQ). Targeted sequencing of the entire CAMRQ2 locus, 7.1 Mb interval on chromosome 17p13, in three affected individuals and two obligate carriers uncovered the mutation associated with CAMRQ2.
Australia and New Zealand Multiple Sclerosis case
Single cell sequencing results
Behind every dataset submitted, every access request processed, and every technical question answered, there is a team working quietly to keep things moving: the Helpdesk (HD). With the onset of 2026, this feels like the right moment to look back on what 2025 has been like for the HD team: the challenges we faced, how we adapted, and where we're heading next. Why the Helpdesk matters to EGA The EGA Helpdesk is more than a support channel. It plays a key role in maintaining trust in the EGA ecosystem. By supporting data submitters, researchers, Data Access Committees (DACs), and institutional partners, the HD helps ensure that data can flow securely, efficiently, and reliably. When issues arise, the Helpdesk is often the first place where their impact is felt and addressed. In that sense, the HD sits at the intersection of technology, policy, and people. One Helpdesk, two locations, one shared mission The EGA Helpdesk is a joint, distributed team working closely across two locations: CRG (Barcelona, Spain) and EMBL-EBI (Cambridge, UK). Although we are based in different institutions, we operate as a single Helpdesk, with shared workflows, priorities, and responsibility towards users. At CRG, the HD team is formed by: Andrea Max Àlex and me At EMBL-EBI, we work closely with: Silvia Coline Aravind What defines us as a team is simple: we work user-first, even under pressure. In a highly technical environment, clarity, empathy, and consistency matter just as much as tools and processes. A close collaboration across sites is essential to making that happen. What does the EGA Helpdesk do? The HD supports users across the full lifecycle of data in EGA. This includes: Data submissions, uploads, and encryption workflows. Data access requests and permissions. Questions around policies, consent, and data usage. Technical and system-related issues. Coordination between users, internal teams, and external partners. 2025: growth, change, and recalibration 2025 was a year of growth, but not always a predictable one. Early in the year, several technical and system-related challenges required us to adjust our original plans. Priorities shifted, timelines changed, and some improvements had to be rethought. For the HD team, this is often the hardest part of the job: we see delays through the eyes of users and understand the real impact they can have on ongoing research. One of the key lessons from 2025 was that stability is not only a technical challenge, but also an organisational one. Teamwork proved to be essential: anticipating peak periods, sharing context early, and coordinating closely across teams made a tangible difference. When things became complex, working together across roles and locations was what allowed us to keep moving forward. In 2025, the Helpdesk received 5.313 tickets and resolved 5.511 requests, reflecting both increased adoption of EGA and the team’s ability to absorb higher demand. At the same time, demand continued to grow. Compared to 2024, ticket creation increased by over 6%, while resolution capacity grew by more than 11%. The team not only kept up with incoming requests but also resolved part of the accumulated backlog, finishing the year having solved more tickets than were created. The real challenge of 2025 was not overall performance, but how the workload was concentrated during peak months. Seasonality and demand spikes placed pressure on the system, even while overall efficiency remained strong. On a team level, 2025 was also a year of transition. I joined the HD leadership role in January 2025, stepping into a period of change and rapid learning. Later in the year, in October, we said goodbye to Raül, and in January 2026, we welcomed Àlex, strengthening the team for the next phase. What users needed most in 2025 While requests vary widely, some themes stood out throughout the year: Support with data submissions and uploads Data access requests and permissions Technical and system-related issues As EGA matures, day-to-day operations have become more complex. Many long-running tickets are not delayed due to a lack of follow-up, but because they depend on external approvals, cross-institutional coordination, or multi-step processes. Understanding these patterns helps us focus not just on resolving tickets, but on improving how work flows through the system. Looking ahead to 2026 With a reinforced team and clearer insights from 2025, our focus for 2026 shifts from throughput to flow. Key priorities include: Strengthening our web content and documentation Reducing structural backlog Improving cross-team and cross-system coordination Anticipating peak demand earlier and planning capacity accordingly Challenges will continue to arise in 2026, as they always do. However, 2025 reinforced something important: a stable, empathetic, and well-aligned Helpdesk team is essential to supporting EGA's mission at scale. Supporting users well means supporting research, and that remains at the core of what we do.
Here we provide a catalogue of variants called after sequencing the exomes of 50 Aboriginal individuals from the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia and compare these to 72 previously published exomes from a Western Australian (WA) population of Martu origin. Sequence data for both NT and WA samples were processed using an ‘intersect-then-combine’ (ITC) approach, using GATK and SAMtools to call variants. The data is provided as 2 VCF files, one for the WA population and one for the NT population.
The Family and Community Health Studies (FACHS) is a longitudinal examination of health and health related behaviors in African American families. The original study cohort consisted of 867 African American parent-child dyads from Georgia and Iowa who were ascertained in cooperation with local school districts. The key inclusion criteria for participating in the study were the presence of an adolescent in the 5th grade (approximately 10-11 years old) who self-identified as African American (i.e., the Target) and the participation of a primary caretaker (PC) for the Target. The clinical and biological data included in this collection are from the Target (i.e., FACHS-T) portion of these studies of these African American parent-child dyads. The initial wave of behavioral assessments of the FACHS-T subjects was conducted in 1997-98 (Wave 1), with seven subsequent ascertainments, Wave 2 (1999–2000), Wave 3 (2002–2003), Wave 4 (2005–2006), Wave 5 (2007–2009), Wave 6 (2010–2011), Wave 7 (2014–2016) and Wave 8 (2019-2021). Full interviews were obtained at each wave of the study with the exact content of the wave varying as a function of developmental age. These interviews of the FACHS-T subjects collected a wide variety of data including the following: perceived discrimination; socioeconomic status; substance use exposure; common internalizing and externalizing disorders such as depression, substance use, and conduct disorder; school efficacy; peer support and perceived parenting practices. Biological sampling of the FACHS-T subjects was conducted at three time points. Saliva DNA was collected at Wave 5 while full phlebotomy was conducted at Waves 7 and 8. The genome wide methylation data listed below is derived from the whole blood DNA samples collected at Wave 8 and Wave 9. The genome wide genotyping data was determined using DNA from the Wave 7 samples. The clinical and biological data available herein are those from 309 FACHS-T subjects who participated in both Wave 7 and Wave 8, and who consented for deposition of their data in dbGAP.
Cell Atlas of the diseased human heart. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/ . This dataset contains all the data available for this study on 2025-07-31.
