Quest Diagnostics, the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services, and Rutgers University–New Brunswick have collaborated to open the new “Quest Diagnostics Sports Science Laboratory at the Rutgers Center for Health & Human Performance,” within the New Jersey Institute of Food, Nutrition, and Health (IFNH). This new lab will yield research and develop new innovations that combine the human athletic performance and recovery research conducted at Rutgers with diagnostic information capabilities and insights from Blueprint for Athletes, Quest’s biometric testing service for competitive and professional athletes.
The first research projects under the newly formed collaboration will focus on three preliminary areas: how changes in biomarker levels are associated with training load and performance-related variables such as changes in movement mechanics, endurance, power, and body composition; the correlation between the biomarkers in the Blueprint for Athletes test service and performance, metabolism, nutrition, and bone density in competitive male triathletes; and how new point-of-care micro-sampling technologies may expand hormone analysis capabilities. Biomarkers are biological indicators or measurements of a condition or health state. “This collaboration is a natural extension of the collaborative efforts between Quest and Rutgers over the past several years.
Together, we have sought to further the understanding of how diagnostic information, specifically blood-based biomarkers, can improve health and athletic performance,” said Richard C. Schwabacher, MPH, executive director, sports science and human performance, Quest Diagnostics. “Dr. Arent and his team are researching topics that will have practical applications in the near-term, while contributing to the broader academic field of study. That’s what is so exciting about this collaboration: the laser focus on practical, impactful research, which will enable athletes to compete optimally and safely.”
Shawn Arent, PhD and director of the Center for Health and Human Performance at the Rutgers–New Brunswick Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, said, “The insights from the data derived from Blueprint for Athletes will provide the context for us to consider performance variables holistically, including nutritional education and intervention, injury assessment, and training load monitoring as well as sophisticated biometric analyses. Given Rutgers’ stature in Division I collegiate men’s and women’s soccer and our access to other high-level athletes, we’re especially interested in tracking biomarkers over the course of the season with these teams and players, to better understand the association between changes in key biomarkers, training load, stress, and performance. Ultimately, we hope to optimize both the health and performance of these individuals.”
In addition to conducting original research to better predict biological response to training exertion and hormone status, and their impact on human athletic performance in collegiate athletes and competitive triathletes, the collaboration Quest and Rutgers will also aim to create new, innovative products and services based on the applicability of actionable insights. New intellectual property and invention resulting from the collaboration will be jointly owned by both entities.
Both Quest Diagnostics and Rutgers will provide opportunities for further, substantive collaboration. Schwabacher will serve on the IFNH External Advisory Board. Quest will also have the opportunity to appoint visiting scholars to the IFNH and provide Rutgers students with opportunities for internships and independent studies. Arent, PhD, FACSM, Rutgers University, and director, Center for Health and Human Performance at Rutgers–New Brunswick Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health (IFNH), and 2017 Outstanding Sport Scientist of the Year and current President of ISSN, will continue to serve as a member of the Quest Diagnostics Sports Diagnostics External Advisory Board.
The IFNH Center for Health & Human Performance first began conducting research using Blueprint for Athletes in 2015 as the biomarker testing service was being designed by Quest Diagnostics. In 2016, Rutgers researchers used data from Blueprint for Athletes in original research, presented at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, which showed female college athletes at their highest pre-season fitness levels were more susceptible to overreach in a team sport environment.Quest also plans to utilize the insights gleaned from this collaboration to enhance the Blueprint for Athletes consumer offering. Blueprint for Athletes evaluates levels of blood-based health markers such as vitamin D, creatine kinase, and glucose that influence protein synthesis, energy levels, and wellness, and provides specific insights athletes can use to help improve their performance. Consumers, such as other collegiate athletes, endurance athletes, professional athletes and others engaged in intense conditioning, can choose between six stacks, panels of lab tests geared to specific fitness goals. Results from the biometric analysis are provided in an easy to read action-oriented report. Blueprint for Athletes introduced micro-sampling for the hormone stack in 2017.