PROVIDENCE – October 29, 2026 -- The Rhode Island Life Science Hub (RILSH) and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to plan how Rhode Island hospitals can join the MLSC-supported biobank network, with Alzheimer's and other brain diseases as the first focus.
Eleven Massachusetts institutions already participate in the network
The participating Massachusetts institutions are Baystate Medical Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Medical Center Health System, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and UMass Chan Medical School.
Four industry partners support the core infrastructure. Advarra, DNAnexus, Datavant and Azenta will provide expertise in ethics and regulatory oversight, secure data systems, privacy-preserving data linkage and biospecimen management. Additional partners will generate molecular and multi-omic data.
RILSH and MLSC aim to finalize governance and infrastructure plans in the coming months
Over the coming months, the two agencies will build a shared plan for infrastructure and governance, with the goal of reaching a final agreement. Alzheimer's is a core area of research in Rhode Island. The partners plan to expand into other disease areas as the program grows.
The goal is a single source of samples and data collected the same way under careful controls, usable by researchers in both states.
Leaders back one shared platform over two separate efforts
RILSH President and CEO Bob Cormier said the single-platform approach makes smart use of capital. "Science and disease don't stop at state lines, and neither should our research," he said, adding that one of the biggest research gaps is high-quality data collected the same way every time.
MLSC Interim President and CEO Liz Graham said the deal extends the reach of Massachusetts' scientific infrastructure investments beyond the Commonwealth. Since 2008, the MLSC has deployed nearly $1.2 billion in Massachusetts through grants, loans, capital infrastructure investments, tax incentives and workforce development programs.
Bharat Ramratnam, MD, Senior Vice President of Research at Brown University Health and Co-Chief Scientific Officer of the Brown Innovation and Research Collaborative for Health (BIRCH), said a regional network lets Rhode Island researchers work at a scale neither state could reach alone.
The partners expect the shared system to reduce repeated work and make more efficient use of public dollars.