Baylor Scott & White Research Institute has joined other national healthcare leaders to accelerate the field of precision medicine through the All of Us Research Program – the largest study of its kind ever executed in the U.S. The landmark study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, will follow health and lifestyle information for at least 1 million participants across the country, providing extensive data to improve personalized care for future generations.
“In all the ways we serve our communities, this may be one of the most important to future generations,” noted Alex Arroliga, M.D., chief clinical innovation officer for Baylor Scott & White Health.
The All of Us Research Program aims to help researchers understand more about why people get sick or stay healthy. The program wants to attract participants from all backgrounds, and use the information to learn how our health is affected by our DNA, habits and where we live. The hope is that this information may one day help us find ways to prevent and treat disease.
Unlike research studies that focus on one disease or group of people, the All of Us Research Program is building a diverse database that can inform thousands of studies on a variety of health conditions. This creates more opportunities to:
- Know the risk factors for certain diseases
- Figure out which treatments work best for people of different backgrounds
- Connect people with the right clinical studies for their needs
- Learn how technology can help us take steps to be healthier
Researchers will use the data to learn how our biology, lifestyle and environment affect health. This may one day help them find ways to treat and prevent disease.
The data gathered through the All of Us Research Program will allow for a paradigm shift where decisions, treatments and practices can be tailored to an individual patient with a condition. By involving everyone in the conversation, the All of Us Research Program hopes to be the largest, most inclusive health database of its kind.
Participants in the All of Us Research Program can choose to receive free, health-related DNA results that provide insight into their genetic ancestry, genetic traits, risk for developing serious health conditions and how their body might react to certain medicines.
Since the All of Us Research Program began, the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute team has enrolled more than 15,000 participants in Texas. The NIH has recently renewed the grant for Baylor Scott & White to conduct the program in Texas with $16 million in funding for the next five years.
“We are excited to be able to continue to offer our communities an easy way to become part of a cutting-edge research program,” said Alan Stevens, PhD, director of the Center for Applied Health Research at Baylor Scott & White Research Institute and principal investigator of the All of Us research program at Baylor Scott & White Health.
“Participating in All of Us gives individuals the opportunity to learn more about the uniqueness of their DNA and to contribute to scientific discovery that will change the health of future generations,” Dr. Stevens said.
To learn more about the program or to participate, visit JoinAllofUs.org/Baylor
