At an All of Us Research Program symposium, Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institutes of Health, spoke of the promise of precision medicine and how the All of Us Research Program can play a vital role. To set the stage, he talked about the Framingham Heart Study, which started in the 1940s. That study has led to breakthroughs in heart disease prevention and treatment.

Like the Framingham study, over time, All of Us will collect a rich body of data from participants to help advance research. The information will be part of the largest health data resource of its kind, ever. Researchers can use this data to conduct thousands of studies. Sharing health information with All of Us over a stretch of many years is essential to making this happen.

“In some ways, All of Us is a bit like Framingham, but 40 times bigger, covering all health conditions, consisting of a much more diverse cohort, and using technologies never dreamed of in 1948,” Dr. Collins said. “I think it’s safe to say that the potential for All of Us is almost boundless.”

The All of Us Research Program is a large research program from the National Institutes of Health. The goal is to help researchers understand more about why people get sick or stay healthy. People who join will share information about their health, habits, and what it’s like where they live. By looking for patterns in this information, researchers may learn more about what affects people’s health.

“All of Us offers the once-in-a-generation potential to radically accelerate our biomedical knowledge and improve health for everyone, worldwide,” says Dr. Joshua Denny, Chief Executive Officer of the All of Us Research Program.

All of Us is asking lots of people to join. Participants are from different races and ethnicities, age groups, and regions of the country. They are also diverse in gender identity, sexual orientation, and health status. By studying data from a diverse group of people, researchers can learn more about what makes people sick or keeps them healthy.

If you decide to join the All of Us Research Program, you will be contributing to an effort to improve the health of generations to come.

To learn more about the All of Us Research Program or to join, visit AllofUsAZ.org or call (877) 268-2684.

“All of Us and All of Us logo are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”