18 Oct National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities research helps improve diversity and inclusion in All of Us
Today, most medicine tries to treat all patients the same way—what some call a one-size-fits-all approach. But every human being is different, with their own lifestyle, environment, and genes, and the growing field of precision medicine views every person as unique. Precision medicine is already being used to help doctors find the right treatments for their patients. In the future, it could even help prevent disease.
The All of Us Research Program aims to bring that future a little closer. This ambitious research program from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is part of the Precision Medicine Initiative, which began in 2015. All of Us plans to recruit more than 1 million people from all over the United States to share information about their health, their lifestyles, and where they live. This data will be shared with researchers, who will study it in the hopes of finding new treatments and ways to help keep people healthy.
In addition to its size, one of the many things that make All of Us unique is its commitment to diversity. Historically, research has not been inclusive of certain population groups like racial and ethnic minorities, women, and people with disabilities. This limited what the researchers could learn and led to treatments and practices that may not work for everyone.
To build a research program that truly welcomes everyone, All of Us turned to experts like Nishadi Rajapakse, Ph.D., a program director in the Division of Scientific Programs at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). She is leading the Transdisciplinary Collaborative Centers (TCC) for Health Disparities Research Focused on Precision Medicine (U54) initiative, NIMHD’s first foray into the field of precision medicine. The mission of NIMHD is to lead scientific research to improve minority health and reduce health disparities. Read more …