Research Roundup
A Research Community Built for Diverse Discoveries
The lack of diversity in health research translates to less-than-optimal health care options for many people. Diversity of researchers and scientists is just as important as diversity of research participants.
One of the All of Us Research Program’s goals is to enroll 10,000 researchers to delve into the available data in the Research Hub. As it does for the participant cohort, the program aims to have a group of researchers who are diverse in many characteristics, including race and ethnicity and where they are in their career. All of Us understands that a diverse research community will do more than just drive new types of questions; it will also spark innovation and strengthen our research enterprise.
Learn how All of Us is working to ensure a diverse research workforce. Read the full story.
Voices of All of Us: Researcher Cheryl Clark
A researcher and hospitalist in internal medicine, Cheryl R. Clark, M.D., ScD, has dedicated her career to bridging the gap between the social environment and disease risks, or sometimes referred to as social determinants of health. Dr. Clark serves as co-chair of the All of Us Research Program’s Social Determinants of Health Task Force, drawing on her personal experiences growing up in the south suburb of Harvey, Illinois, and her professional experience as Associate Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “The purpose of collecting this data is to form a more complete picture on the influences for susceptibility to disease and resilience that promotes health,” said Dr. Clark.
Testimonial: Dr. Jason Karnes
More than 80% of people in clinical studies in genetics are White. But the vast majority of genetic variability is outside of individuals who self-report as White, so there is a gap in genetic research. Jason Karnes, Pharm.D., Ph.D., BCPS, FAHA, the Director of Scientific Programs at the University of Arizona, hopes that All of Us can change those statistics. His work with data from All of Us focuses on predicting adverse drug reactions and a person’s response to medications based on their genetics.
Featured Publications
Recent publications demonstrate both the power and the potential of the All of Us dataset. The dataset represents reproducibility, a diverse participant cohort, and a robust collection of data, including EHRs, surveys, and various samples. Below are recent studies related to All of Us:
- Khan M.S., Carroll R.J. (2021). Inference-based correction of multi-site height and weight measurement data in the All of Us research program. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocab251.
- Leasure, A. C., Acosta, J. N., Sansing, L. H., Sheth, K. N., Cohen, J. M., & Falcone, G. J. (2021). Association of lichen planus with cardiovascular disease: A combined analysis of the UK Biobank and All of Us Study. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, S0190-9622(21)02512-3. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2021.09.030.
- Lee, E. B., Hu, W., Singh, K., & Wang, S. Y. (2021). The association between blood pressure, blood pressure medications, and glaucoma in a nationwide electronic health records database. Ophthalmology. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2021.10.018.
- Lunt, C., & Denny, J. C. (2021). I can drive in Iceland: Enabling international joint analyses. Cell Genomics, 1(2), 100034. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xgen.2021.100034.
- Montanez-Valverde, R. A., Zucher, S., Isasi, R., McCauley, J., & Carrasquillo, O. (2021). The Latino epidemiological paradox in cardiovascular disease in the All of Us Research Program. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 77(18), 1464. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/S0735-1097(21)02822-9.
- Na, J., Zong, N., Wang, C., Midthun, D. E., Luo, Y., Yang, P., & Jiang, G. (2021). Characterizing phenotypic abnormalities associated with high-risk individuals developing lung cancer using electronic health records from the All of Us Researcher Workbench. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 28(11), 2313–2324. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocab174.
Funding Opportunities
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced a $9.1 million funding opportunity aimed at increasing the number of early-stage investigators and new investigators, particularly those from groups historically underrepresented in health-related sciences. As part of this Request for Applications (RFA), All of Us intends to fund up to three awards for a total of $2.3 million for fiscal year 2022. Learn more and apply by February 22.
- Intel has partnered with All of Us to support COVID-19 data curation and related research. Researchers who undertake COVID-19 research within the Researcher Workbench may be eligible to receive compute credits for their work. Learn more about this partnership and the chance to receive credits.
All of Us News
Check out the latest news:
- All of Us has selected Geoffrey Ginsburg, M.D., Ph.D., as its new chief medical and scientific officer. Dr. Ginsburg will help set the scientific vision and strategy for the program. He will also oversee how the program collects and organizes data, leading the integration of new data types to support a range of scientific discoveries. “I’m excited to be at the forefront of this effort, working alongside participants, partners, researchers, and the NIH scientific community to continue to demonstrate the impact of this collaborative effort,” he said. Learn more about Dr. Ginsburg’s vision and background.
- All of Us recently launched a new participant survey to collect information about various social and environmental factors, such as neighborhood safety, access to food, and experiences with health care. Responses will provide researchers with key data to better understand the connection between these factors, known as social determinants of health, and overall health. Responses from this survey are expected to be available in the Researcher Workbench in late 2022. Learn more about this survey and what it means for the program’s larger goals.
Upcoming Events
Save the Date & Call for Abstracts: All of Us Science Day
The inaugural All of Us Science Day is planned for April 1, 2022, and will highlight the wide variety of research projects underway on the Researcher Workbench. All of Us invites abstracts that describe the value of the initial set of All of Us data and tools in driving discovery. Proposals by registered researchers that address the diversity and utility of data and the promise of impact to the All of Us participant community will be considered for interactive panel discussions. The submission deadline is January 26, 2022.
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