The All of Us Research Program is on a mission to collect data on more than 1 million people from diverse backgrounds to help accelerate research that may improve precision medicine as well as health outcomes.

Too often clinical trials include groups of people of one race or from one location, leading to the development of drugs that may work for some individuals but not others.

For example, Latinos and African Americans account for 18%  and 13% of the U.S. population, respectively, but only about 5% of individuals from each group participate in clinical trials.

Through the National Institutes of Health, All of Us is working to build a diverse database that will inform thousands of studies on various health issues in the United States. The project focuses on gathering new data for precision medicine, which is treatment that takes into account such individual factors as where a person lives and their lifestyle, family health history and genetic makeup, which enables health care workers to match patients with the best treatment on the first try. The goal is to reduce health care costs and boost treatment efficacy.

Edgar Gil Rico, an All of Us principal investigator affiliated with the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, said this project is important because it helps develop medicine and treatments that are specific to each person. “The health of a person is more comprehensive,” he said in a CPR article.

So far, more than 370,000 people have participated in the program by completing the basic enrollment steps. Those involved in the program also have the opportunity to learn about their genetic ancestry, genetic traits, which health conditions they are vulnerable to and how they might react to certain medications.

To learn more about and to join the All of Us Research Program, click here.