The Sterol and Isoprenoid Research (STAIR) Consortium represents a collaborative group of investigators along with their academic medical centers and the National Institutes of Health, patient advocacy groups (PAGs), and clinical research programs. Members of the STAIR Consortium are dedicated to participating in clinical research regarding disorders related to cholesterol and other sterol and isoprenoid metabolism. Sites that participate in the STAIR Consortium located across North America and include the coordinating site, University of Nebraska Medical Center/Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska; Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon; Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio; Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh/UPMC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Washington State University in Spokane, Washington; and Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center in the Netherlands.

The overall objective of the STAIR Consortium is to study a group of diseases bound by common biochemistry, impact on health, and rarity. These diseases are all caused by impaired sterol or isoprenoid metabolism and include Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome (SLOS), Sjögren-Larsson Syndrome (SLS), Hyperimmunoglobulinemia D with Periodic Fever Syndrome (HIDS), Sitosterolemia, and Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis (CTX). In five years, the STAIR Consortium will conduct several clinical studies, support a full-scale training program in the field of sterol and isoprenoid diseases, and engage several PAGs in consortium activities. In summary, the STAIR Consortium will foster multidisciplinary clinical research, promote training and education and support projects to explore promising leads in the understanding, diagnostics, and treatment of sterol and isoprenoid diseases.