For Hub City Times

MARSHFIELD — Three Wisconsin-based medical and scientific organizations — Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and Medical College of Wisconsin — have collectively been awarded $5,360,832 to help implement the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program.

These institutions will partner with BloodCenter of Wisconsin and regional Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to aid in engagement and recruitment of research participants.

The All of Us Research Program is a nationwide effort to advance research into precision medicine, an approach for disease treatment and prevention that takes into account individuals’ variability in biological makeup, environment, and lifestyle. The Wisconsin awardees will use their collective resources to enroll interested individuals and gather health information, which researchers will use to prevent or treat disease. The goal of the All of Us Research Program is to gather health data from more than 1 million people living in the U.S.

Together, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and Medical College of Wisconsin will cover 173 clinics, 13 hospitals, and five FQHCs. BloodCenter of Wisconsin will educate and engage its thousands of blood donors for potential involvement in the research program as well.

“Our organizations have a long history of research collaboration and robust community engagement, and we’re proud to be involved in a program focused on a future where better prevention, detection, and treatment are possible through research,” said Dr. Murray Brilliant, director of the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute’s Center for Human Genetics, a division of Marshfield Clinic Health System.

To learn more and to sign up for updates, visit joinallofus.org.