NIH has awarded $55 million to build the infrastructure needed to launch the Cohort Program a research effort that is part of the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI). www.nih.gov/precision-medicine-initiative-cohort-program. The PMI Cohort Program is making an effort to engage one million or more U.S participants so researchers will be able to study individual differences in lifestyle, environment, and genetics.
Funding is going to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to support a “Data and Research Support Center” www.nih.gov/precision-medicine-initiative-cohort-program/data-research-support-center. The Center has the support of the Broad Institute in Cambridge Massachusetts and Verily Life Sciences (formerly Google Life Sciences).
The Center will acquire, organize and provide secure access to what is going to be the world’s largest and most diverse data datasets for precision medicine research. The goal is to not only to provide research support for the scientific data and provide analysis tools for the program, but to help build a community of researchers from community colleges along with healthcare research institutions and industries.
Mayo Clinic was awarded the task to build the PMI Cohort Program Biobank to support the collection, analyses, storage, and distribution for biological samples known as bio specimens. Data from laboratory analyses of bio specimens will be combined with other lifestyle and health information provided by volunteers.
Funding is also going to help establish a “Participant Technologies Center” www.nih.gov/precision-medicine-cohort-program/healthcare-provider-organizations with Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, and with Vibrent Health in Virginia. The Center will also develop, test, maintain, and upgrade as needed PMI Cohort Program mobile applications.
These mobile apps will be used to enroll, obtain consents, collect data from and communicate with PMI Cohort Program participants. The Center will also need to develop parallel platforms to deliver the same functions to individuals without smartphones and also work with various technology organizations to increase smartphone accessibility.
Funding will also be available to build a network of Healthcare Provider Organizations (HPO) www.nih.gov/precision-medicine-initiative-cohort-program/healthcare-provider-organizations by NIH to ensure that participants represent the geographic, ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic diversity of the country. The network will include regional and national medical centers, community health centers and medical centers operated by the VA.
Several organizations have been selected as the initial set of HPOs with another funding opportunity to be made available in the coming months. The current regional medical centers include Columbia University, Northwestern University, University of Arizona, and the University of Pittsburgh. These awardees will make sub-awards with organizations to extend the reach of the HPO network.
In addition, NIH is collaborating with HRSA to select six Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) to support a pilot program to determine the infrastructure needed that will enable a wide variety of FQHCs to participate as HPOs
The VA is collaborating with NIH to use the VA’s experience gained from the Million Veteran Program www.research.va.gov/MVP. The plan is to study how genes affect health and then help veterans enroll in the PMI Cohort Program.