MemorialCare, UC Irvine, and LLU Health partner to transform the future of precision health research through NIH award
MemorialCare received funding from the All of Us Southern California Consortium at University of California, Irvine to join the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program nationwide consortium. The goal of All of Us is to gather health data from at least 1 million or more people living in the United States to build a health database that will accelerate precision medicine research.
Fady Youssef, M.D., principal investigator at MemorialCare, will join lead Consortium investigator, Hoda Anton-Culver, Ph.D., a Donald Bren Professor and Distinguished Professor of medicine at UC Irvine, and Dr. Dmitry Abramov from Loma Linda University Health to lead the All of Us Southern California Consortium. All of Us aims to enroll participants that reflect the diversity of the U.S., including people who identify with communities historically underrepresented in research, such as those who identify as with racial and ethnic groups, have lower education or income levels, are LGBTQIA+, live in rural communities, those with disabilities, are over the age of 65, or have limited health care access.
Eligible adults who live in the U.S. can join the program. Enrollment locations at MemorialCare’s three acute adult hospitals in Long Beach, Fountain Valley, and Laguna Hills, as well as UCI Health and LLU Health, make it easy and accessible for patients and residents.
“MemorialCare’s expansive network—from primary care offices to three acute care hospitals and a children’s hospital – will help us bring greater access to the All of Us Research Program to the communities we serve,” said Dr. Youssef. “I’m thrilled to be part of a program that is moving to bring more health equity to research by representing those often not a part of previous research efforts to improve health outcomes in underserved communities.”
Launched in 2018, the All of Us Research Program is building one of the most diverse health databases in history to accelerate precision medicine research and improve health by considering individual differences in lifestyle, environment and biology. By participating, individuals can contribute to a repository of data for researchers to better understand health and disease, and potentially develop more personalized approaches to treatments and interventions.
The All of Us Research Program has already enrolled more than 830,000 participants nationwide. It is one of the largest, most diverse databases of its kind with over 85% of participants identifying with a community who is underrepresented in biomedical research, including approximately 45% who are underrepresented by race and ethnicity. Joining the All of Us Southern California Consortium builds upon MemorialCare’s dedication and efforts to provide equitable care to patients.
More than 12,300 researchers are registered to use the All of Us data. The goal of the All of Us Research Program is to build a new body of knowledge that has the potential to advance health care for all people.
Accredited by the Association of Human Research Protections Programs, MemorialCare is a leader in conducting scientifically sound research. With over 300 ongoing research projects at any given time, MemorialCare’s research program brings the latest clinical devices and treatments to the community, ensuring that innovative treatment options are always available closer to home.
“This nationwide research will provide tremendous opportunities for collaboration among researchers, health care providers, and institutions – accelerating scientific discoveries and innovations,” said Dr. Youssef.
To learn more about the All of Us Research Program, please visit joinallofus.org or email us [email protected].
LLUH’s work on the All of Us Research Program is funded by a subaward from the University of California, Irvine, which is funded by National Institutes of Health award OT2OD036428.
All of Us and the All of Us logo are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.