The major research objectives of this Network are

• to accrue clinical data and DNA samples in well-characterized human populations with a spectrum of SCD risk (patient populations);
• to analyze these for clinical predictors of risk (clinical cohort studies);
• to analyze genomic determinants of SCD risk in these populations, focusing on arrhythmia pathway and whole genome approaches (population genotyping);
• to use clinical, animal, and in vitro approaches to understand mechanisms whereby established and new markers influence SCD risk (basic mechanisms).