NIH’s “All of Us” Program Expands National Network of Medical Centers
The National Institute of Health’s (NIH) All of Us Research Program, previously called the Precision Medicine Initiative, added three sets of healthcare provider organizations to its network and the organizations will help enroll participants in long-term precision medicine research efforts.
Combined, the new awardees will receive $13.8 million to enroll interested individuals, gather participant health information and help retain participants in the program through ongoing engagement efforts. These awardees will extend the geographic coverage of the program and strengthen its reach within underserved communities, including lower-income, Hispanic and Latino, African American, American Indian and rural communities, the NIH said in a press release.
The All of Us Research Program is an initiative to gather data over time from more than 1 million people living in the United States, with the ultimate goal of accelerating research and improving health. Researchers will use data from the program for studies on a variety of health conditions, to learn more about the impact of individual differences in lifestyle, environment and biological makeup.
The new additions to the network are:
Southern All of Us Network: University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB); Cooper Green Mercy Hospital, Birmingham, Alabama; Huntsville Hospital, Alabama; Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans; Tulane Medical Center, New Orleans; Tuskegee University, Alabama; UAB Hospital, Birmingham, Alabama; UAB School of Medicine’s Montgomery Internal Medicine and Selma Family Medicine programs, Birmingham, Alabama; University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson; University of South Alabama Health System, Mobile; and University Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
SouthEast Enrollment Center: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Florida; Emory University, Atlanta; Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta; and the OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium led by the University of Florida in Gainesville.
All of Us, Wisconsin: Marshfield Clinic Research Institute; BloodCenter of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
“We want this program to reflect the rich diversity of our country,” Eric Dishman, director of the All of Us Research Program at NIH, said in a statement. “Expanding our national network of health care provider organizations enhances our ability to reach communities traditionally underrepresented in medical research. Working with participants across the country, we hope to contribute to medical breakthroughs that may lead to more tailored disease prevention and treatment solutions in the future.”
The All of Us Research Program plans to continue building the network of health care provider organizations over time to engage a large participant community that reflects the geographic, ethnic, racial and socioeconomic diversity of the country. The network includes regional medical centers, community health centers and medical centers operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
