The National Institutes of Health will add four regional medical center groups to the national network of healthcare provider organizations slated to implement the Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program. Combined, the new providers will initially get $5.5 million for recruitment and infrastructure, and as the program goes on, the centers may get up to $16 million in total first-year funds.
The four HPOs join other award-winners that were announced earlier this year. They'll gather participants' health information and provide input on developing plans for the program.
Awardees include the California Precision Medicine Consortium, Pennsylvania-based Geisinger Health System, the New England Precision Medicine Consortium, and the Trans-American Consortium for the Health Care Systems Research Network.
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The PMI Cohort Program is a research effort that aims to improve the ability to prevent and treat disease based on individual differences in lifestyle, environment and genetics.
Participants will be invited to contribute a range of data about themselves by completing questionnaires, granting access to their electronic health records, providing blood and urine samples and sharing real-time information through smartphones or other wearable technology. NIH said the data will be closely guarded.
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One of the main goals of the PMI Cohort Program is to create a national resource for researchers, including citizen scientists, to help answer important questions about a number of different health conditions. When the program opens for enrollment, people can sign up through a participating HPO, or directly using the program website, smartphone app or call center.
Beyond extending the program's geographic reach, the new set of awardees have experience engaging racial and ethnic minorities who, historically, have been underrepresented in biomedical research. Over time, they may also enroll others who are often unable to participate in research, such as those with mental illnesses or substance abuse problems.
Twitter: @JELagasse