Precision Medicine Discoveries could be Accelerated Through NIH-funded Genome Centers
There is a research program, called All Of Us, which awards funds of about $28.6 million in order to make three genome centers spread across the country. The centers have the mission of generating genomic data from biosamples which are contributions made by the program’s participants.
This information is a huge part of the program’s ultimate purpose. After all the components fall into place, the program will work as a precision medicine research platform. It will act as a national resource which will be able of supporting studies done on a variety of important health topics.
The director of the National Institutes of Health, of which the All Of Us Research Program is part of, Francis S. Collins, M. D., Ph. D. said that “Fifteen years after the mapping of the human genome, this is a pivotal step toward realizing the promise of that historic achievement. Including high-quality genomic information along with many other data types collected in the All of Us program will speed up scientific breakthroughs and ultimately improve the health of future generations.”
This program represents one of the most ambitious biomedical research efforts ever taken in this country. Its aim is to include 1 million or more participants into a nationwide community, from all walks of life, including those groups that haven’t been fairly represented in research. Until the moment of this article’s writing, more than 110,000 people have signed up for the program, and more than 60 thousand managed to go through all the elements of the core protocol.
They submit to sharing all kinds of information, from blood and urine samples, to surveys and even access to their electronic health records. As they enter the program, they will continue to share information over time, such as biosamples, fitness trackers and additional surveys.
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