The Reference Materials Working Group will address issues associated with developing a universal material to provide a basis for standardized measures and calibration. The group will address whether they can develop a university calibration effort, what "reference material" means, what is appropriate material to use for calibration, and what will be the defined role of the internal control samples. This has been done for other similar assays, such as cholesterol, to standardize the measures on a global scale.

The Reference Methods Working Group will focus on developing a reference method definition to emphasize the ideal method to determine an absolute quantification of peptides/proteins in CSF.  Examples include using mass spectroscopy or ELISA/ immunoassay. Reference methods have been developed for vitamins and hormones in other diseases, however, measurement of peptides and proteins such as amyloid beta or tau will need a different reference method and this needs to be determined.  The group will address surrounding issues related to the various methodology and development of a universal reference method for use in CSF measures.