UF Health is participating in a nationwide initiative aimed at advancing precision medicine, but it will need the help of 20,000 people to do it.
The All of Us research program is a National Institutes of Health initiative that seeks to collect health information from more than 1 million people across the U.S. in the next decade. UF aims to recruit one in 50 of the national goal over the next five years, according to a UF Health press release.
Researchers will use the data to study the impact of differences in lifestyle, environment and genetic makeup on individual health in an effort to advance proactive and personalized health care, according to the release.
The program held recruiting events at UF Health and Depot Park Friday and Saturday, respectively. Twenty-six people contributed information at the two events, and about 30 more agreed to be contacted for more information, said Brittney Roth, the project manager for All of Us at UF.
Rather than focusing on a specific disease, All of Us will serve as a resource for numerous studies covering a variety of health conditions, Roth said.
“Participants are helping build research for a better tomorrow,” she said.
People participating can choose how much medical information they want provide, she said.
Participants give general consent, which includes completing surveys about their health and demographic information. Those who wish to offer more can give researchers consent to access their electronic health records. People also have the option to fully participate by contributing physical measurements and providing blood and urine samples, Roth said.
The initiative hopes to strengthen its reach into underrepresented populations. UF is part of the SouthEast Enrollment Center, a consortium of four major academic health care organizations in Florida and Georgia, and it has its sights set on the rural populations of North Florida and South Georgia.
The SouthEast Enrollment Center has 2,000 total participants and about 250 full participants at UF, Roth said.
Destino Roman, a 20-year-old UF preprofessional biology junior, said he would participate in the research program. He believes it’s on the right track for the innovation of health care.
“I can see a world where one doesn’t have to rely on the ‘best fit’ and can instead find the ‘perfect fit,’” he said.
