Table 4.

Glossary of terms.

Term	Definition
Active study	Feeder study in which collection and/or analysis of the data/specimens is occurring currently by the study team
Data use agreement	A legal document describing the terms of agreement for the transfer and use of data between the institution providing the data and the institution/investigator requesting to use the data for research purposes
Feeder study	An individual research study with an IRB-approved protocol for which the collected data and/or specimens are stored and available for sharing through our CSPEC-Durham Data and Specimen Repository
Gulf War Illness	Chronic, multi-symptom health condition affecting Veterans who served in the 1990–1991 Gulf War that is not explained by other medical diagnoses or standard laboratory tests. Common symptoms include fatigue, cognitive impairment, chronic pain, sleep problems, gastrointestinal issues, and skin problems. Multiple diagnostic definitions are used to identify cases of Gulf War Illness (21, 22)
Legacy study	Feeder study in which the collection and analyses of data/specimens have been completed by the study team
Material transfer agreement	A legal document describing the terms of agreement for the transfer and use of human biological specimens between the institution providing the specimens and the institution/investigator requesting to use the specimens for research purposes
Metadata	Common set of variable descriptors (e.g., IDs, variable labels, value descriptions, etc.) for data and specimens collected across feeder studies that is used to structure the repository database