Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
A number of developments over the last decade are promoting bold new projects that can enable the promise of precision or personalized medicine. While DNA sequencing costs continue to drop rapidly, equally important has been the widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHR) allowing for the low cost, highly secure exchange of large amounts of longitudinal health data from individuals. In addition, the increasing consumer adoption of mobile and personal technologies offers the opportunity to link genomic and health data with exposure, behavioral, and other environmental health data on a scale not previously possible. We must ensure that the benefits of these advances are accessible to all. Key to the success of the All of Us Research Program (AoURP) will be the proportional inclusion of diverse groups. This is a major strength of the “SouthEast Enrollment Center” (SEEC) consortium. SEEC will recruit 93,000 full participants from Florida and Georgia into AoURP, including approximately 30% Hispanic/Latino and 30% Black/African American volunteers. Importantly, half of the Hispanics will come from the Caribbean (e.g. Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic) and the other half from South and Central America. Our sample of Blacks will include participants from Haiti and English-speaking Caribbean islands. The Consortium will be spearheaded by four leading academic health centers in Florida and Georgia. Each member brings a considerable track record of establishing genomic cohorts, recruiting minorities into clinical research, forming community engagement partnerships, and sharing medical records across large networks (e.g. all participate in PCORnet).
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
