A leading Quebec cohort
About CARTaGENE
As both a biobank and a population-based cohort, CARTaGENE is the largest longitudinal cohort of adults in Quebec. It brings together data and biological samples from 43,000 individuals aged 40 to 69 at recruitment, randomly selected from the province’s major metropolitan regions. Made available to the scientific community, this resource enables large-scale studies of the biological, environmental, and lifestyle factors that influence health.
A major research infrastructure led by Santé Québec – CHU Sainte-Justine, CARTaGENE supports projects in genetics and genomics, population health, chronic diseases, cancer, neuroscience and mental health, as well as methodology and data science. It has already supported the work of hundreds of research teams in Quebec, across Canada, and internationally, contributing to the advancement of knowledge and strengthening the scientific foundations of health practices and policies.
Our mission
CARTaGENE’s mission is to facilitate controlled access to population-based data in order to support and accelerate health research.
By ensuring the rigorous, responsible, and sustainable use of its data and samples, CARTaGENE contributes to the advancement of knowledge, helps inform health-related decisions, and acts as a Quebec partner within national and international consortia and collaborations in population health.
It aims to remain a leading, sustainable, and responsible research infrastructure serving the health research ecosystem.
Our values
To carry out our mission by embodying rigorous, collaborative, committed, innovative, and ethical health research.
We apply high scientific and methodological standards in the collection, management, and access to data and samples.
We protect participants’ data and strictly adhere to legal and ethical standards.
We work closely with participants, research teams, and our institutional partners.
We ensure the responsible and sustainable stewardship of a collective resource in support of research.
We continuously evolve our methods and infrastructure to meet current and emerging research needs.
Key milestones of CARTaGENE
Developed since 2000, CARTaGENE received funding from Genome Canada and Genome Québec in 2007 to establish a scientific platform dedicated to studying environmental factors and genetic determinants of chronic diseases.
From 2009 to 2011, 20,007 individuals were randomly selected and recruited to represent the population aged 40 to 69 from the regions of Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.
In 2012, CARTaGENE generated its first genotyping data. Today, genotyping data are available for all participants who provided a blood sample. In addition, whole-genome sequencing data are now available.
In 2016, CARTaGENE launched its first general health follow-up with the cohort. Additional follow-ups were later conducted in the context of COVID-19 (2020–2022). The most recent health follow-up, initiated in June 2025, is still ongoing. All collected data constitute an essential resource for research.
Team
Support staff
Scientific Leadership
Associate Professor
School of Public Health – Department of Social and Preventive Medicine
Université de Montréal
Researcher at the Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CRCHUM)
Professor
Faculty of Medicine – Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Researcher at the Centre de recherche de l’Institut de cardiologie de Montréal
Members of the CARTaGENE access committee
The SDAC is mandated to ensure compliance with the Access Policy for all requests from researchers regarding access to and use of Data and/or Biological Samples. The SDAC is composed of seven members with diverse expertise who are not affiliated with CARTaGENE.
Our partners
