Research program enrolling in Butler
SUMMIT TWP — Several Butler County residents had their blood drawn Monday, March 13, at the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Center for a study that will be conducted in about 10 years.
The All of Us Research Program is trying to gather blood samples from at least a million people across the country in an effort to develop precision medicine in the coming years. Associates of All of Us Pennsylvania are having clinic days at several Butler County locations through March to gather samples from local residents.
Jordan Williams, senior research coordinator for All of Us Pennsylvania, said getting data from people in more rural communities is essential to the future research.
“What the benefits are is we get a snapshot in time for that person,” Williams said. “That’s really big for us, to be a research program that you can pull research from specific populations.”
The All of Us Research Program is funded by the National Institutes of Health, and launched in Pennsylvania in 2017 as All of Us PA. Volunteers in the program start by filling out surveys that supply information about their living situation and some of their health history.
The health information gathered by All of Us is “de-identified,” and it's just the data that gets shared, not the personal information. The numbers are sent to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where researchers are working to pinpoint reasons for health outcomes using thousands of surveys from across the country.
According to Williams, people who give their blood to the program receive a $25 gift card, but may also be contacted with ancestry information as well as potential health risks.
“The info is given to you directly, and you can take it to your provider,” Williams said. “It’s all done electronically and anonymously.”
The Butler County clinics have been planned for the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Center, as well as UPMC Passavant, Butler SUCCEED and the South Butler Community Library.
Williams said the data collectors were looking for places that are not only well known in the Butler County community, but also commonly used organizations that people trust.
“It’s a common place people know of around here,” Williams said. “We were trying to find a good place in Butler people could go to and there is a good population of people who know of the center.”
If people had completed their surveys prior to arriving at the clinic, their blood pressure, heart rate, and height and weight could be immediately examined by the staff of All of Us. Following the examination, a person would have their blood drawn, and the process would be over.
Williams said blood samples are transported to the Mayo Clinic within 24 hours, where they are frozen until researchers begin to study them in about 10 years.
Lori Vish Stearns, director of engagement for All of Us Pennsylvania, said previously that researchers are working to pinpoint reasons for health outcomes using thousands of surveys from across the country.
According to Williams, the collection of data could help change health care.
“The goal is to start studying it after 10 years,” Williams said. “There has never been a database of blood like they have for weather. You couldn’t pull research at all like this before.”
Dave Roberts, of Meridian, registered for the sampling with his wife, Cathy Cavanaugh, after receiving a letter in the mail about All of Us.
He said the chance to provide research data caught his interest, and the benefits of learning health information early was another plus.
“I am interested in the science and genetics of it all,” Roberts said. “And if there is something I could do to help the research, I want to.”
Those interested in All of Us Pennsylvania can sign up for a clinic at joinallofuspa.org/home/locations.
