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PROJECTS WITH PARTICIPANTS

Recruitment Completed

Microscope

Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Project

October 2017 - July 2023

This project examined the causes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  If you have been diagnosed with or treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), all we will need is your permission to obtain a small sample of tissue from the hospital where you were diagnosed or treated. This tissue may have been removed during a surgical or biopsy procedure.

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To provide permission, you simply read and sign a consent and HIPAA form and mail it back to us. With your signed consent, we can then request the tissue from the appropriate facility.

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Visit the project page to learn more about participating.

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COVID Symptom Study

April 2019 - December 2021

In support of research on COVID-19, the CTS and many other studies agreed to work together in the new “COronavirus Pandemic Epidemiology (COPE)” Consortium. 

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This project was open to all California Teachers Study participants who wanted to download the COVID Symptom Study (C-19) app. Those who chose to participate in the app could also elect to have their data shared with the California Teachers Study. Combining data from this new study with the data CTS participants have provided over the years can support researchers in studying what affects COVID-19 risk, symptoms, and how people recover.

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Visit our page on the CTS response to COVID-19 to learn more.

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The Microsetta Initiative

May 2020 - June 2020

This collaboration between the California Teachers Study & The Microsetta Initiative aimed to understand why people are exhibiting different responses to COVID-19. By collecting samples and survey data from participants who may or may not have been exposed to COVID-19, this project is trying to better understand if and how our microbiome may play a role in those varied responses.  

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A small group of participants in Southern California were invited to participate in this project by providing blood, saliva, and stool samples. 

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Visit the project page to learn more about this study.

Woman Typing

Questionnaire 6

October 2017 - July 2020

The 6th study questionnaire collected updates on participants' health history,  sleep habits, hormone use, physical activity, medications, and family history of cancer. It also included additional questions to support new areas of research, including genetic testing, water use, financial stress, medicinal cannabis use, and sexual orientation and gender identity.  

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Visit the project page to learn more about Questionnaire 6.

Haematology

MGUS Project

April 2017 - March 2018

This project was designed to expand our understanding of proteins found in the blood. One such protein has been linked to a condition called MGUS (Monoclonal Gammopathy of Unknown Significance). MGUS does not cause symptoms, is quite common in the general population, and may be an indirect marker of one's health status.

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We contacted some of our participants to ask for permission to obtain participant medical records from a recent hospitalization. Visit the project page to learn more about this study.

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Parkinson's Project

September 2017 - June 2018

Despite many decades of investigation, very little is known about the causes of Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating movement disorder.  With the help of American Parkinson Disease Association, our team of collaborators at USC, UCLA and Claremont Graduate University has conducted two follow up projects with CTS participants who indicated on questionnaires that they had Parkinson’s disease. This is the second of those follow-up projects.

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The goal of this project was to identify possible risk factors for Parkinson’s disease, including whether certain genetic or lifestyle factors make some people more or less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. 

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Cancer Tissue Biomarker Study

April 2014 - October 2017

This project aimed to expand our research to understand the biological changes that occur in cancer tissue. Tissue samples permit researchers to look for changes in the DNA or protein that might have occurred in cancer – we call these changes biomarkers. Identifying biomarkers helps us understand why cancers develop and why they progress. New technologies now permit us to carefully examine the cancer tissue for biomarkers and other key changes that occur. 

Blood Sample

New Biospecimens for the Future

July 2012 - August 2016

This project invited approximately 30,000 CTS participants to donate a small blood sample that we will use for future research. New research is searching for biomarkers in blood that can help to detect cancer earlier and predict who is at higher or lower risk of developing cancer. By combining the information we can get from new biomarkers with the vast amount of health and lifestyle information that CTS participants have already provided, we hope to find even better ways to fight and prevent cancer and other diseases that affect women. This small blood donation could lead to big discoveries in the future.

Scientist in the Lab

Specimen Collection for Breast Cancer Cases and Controls

April 2005 - May 2015

This study was designed to examine how lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors work together to influence a women’s risk of developing breast cancer. CTS researchers recruited women who have never had breast cancer as well as women diagnosed with breast cancer. Over 9,000 women participated in this project by providing a blood or saliva sample and answering a few questions about their health. The CTS has used these blood and saliva samples to examine genetic changes and environmental and chemical exposures that may be related to breast cancer.

DNA Strand

Nutrition, Estrogens and Endometrial Cancer in Teachers (NEET)

September 2002 - January 2005

​The NEET study invited approximately 1,500 CTS participants for an interview about their health and life experiences. Study participants provided the CTS with information about their diet, past use of hormones, and body weight as well as a blood and urine sample. By collecting self-reported health data and biospecimens from CTS participants, this study examined the relationships between genetics, lifestyle factors, and the risk of developing endometrial cancer. 

Fruit Stand

Special Nutrition Assessment Project (SNAP)

March 2000 - March 2001

The Special Nutrition Assessment Project (SNAP) recruited 400 CTS participants in urban and rural areas of Northern California to study the relationship between diet and disease. Participants agreed to an in-person interview, during which they answered questions about their use of antibiotics, hormones and herbal supplements, diet, recent exposure to tobacco smoke, and residence. These participants also provided a 24-hour urine sample. By taking part in this study, participants helped contribute to researchers’ understanding of how diet and other environmental exposures may play a role in the higher breast cancer rates observed among women who live in urban areas compared to those who reside in rural locations.

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