The National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of the world’s leading medical research establishments, is likely to launch the national enrollment date for its ‘All of Us’ research program this month. The program apparently will help NIH effectively prevent, treat, and care for patients across diverse backgrounds. Some of the key officials of NIH state that people belonging to all age-groups, irrespective of their health status will be eligible for enrollment.
As per reports, volunteers are projected to join over twenty-five thousand participants who have already enrolled in the program. The main aim of the scheme is to register over 1 million volunteers along with those groups that have not been represented in NIH’s research activities.
Alex Azar, NIH’s health & human services secretary, has stated that the ‘All of Us’ research program is an ambitious venture with a huge potential for transforming the study of medicine & disease. He further added that the institute’s unparalleled initiative will open a new era of personalized healthcare. Analysts predict that since precision medicine is an evolving field with the ability to treat myriad ailments and the capability to differentiate between lifestyles, environmental, and the genetic structure of the population, NIH’s venture would lead to numerous discoveries to treat specific diseases with therapies that target patient DNA.
NIH director Francis S. Collins has proclaimed that the new program is an avenue for people from diverse domains to be represented across the new era of medicine. In the All of Us research scheme, participants are requested to share information about health & life patterns. Data of cancer patients is expected to be collected via online surveys & questionnaires and electronic health records. Reportedly, this study will help in determining the habits of the patients, where they live & work, and their overall health. The data collected from electronic health records is likely to help delve deeper into the medical histories of patients along with the side effects & effectiveness of cancer therapies, cite sources.
