Why enroll in medical research? It may be that your family has a history of cancer, diabetes, or high blood pressure. Whatever the reason, you may help change the future of health by participating in the All of Us Research Program.

For Dr. Elizabeth S. Burnside, her reasons are also personal. The co-principal investigator for the All of Us Research Program at UW-Madison learned during her second year of medical school that her mother was battling breast cancer.

“I’m so grateful to have [studied] breast cancer, and to try to optimize how we screen individuals to catch breast cancer early,” said Burnside, a professor in UW’s Department of Radiology. “Individualizing both our screening and treatment protocol is a journey I’ve been so grateful [to] continue with the All of Us Research Program.”

Dr. Burnside | Photo provided by All of Us Research Program

All of Us is a historic effort to accelerate research and improve health. Itempowers individuals to learn about their health and supports researchers to understand health and disease. By studying diverse data from participants, researchers may make discoveries that could improve health for all of us in the future.

All of our data combined may allow researchers to connect the dots between our lifestyle, genetics, and our environment. For example, 135+ studies on the Researcher Workbench focus on breast cancer and are helping researchers improve the understanding of the genetic, environmental, and lifestyle risk factors for the disease.

The more we know about what makes people unique, the more customized health care can become. That is why they're asking one million or more people to join the program.

UW–Madison, partnering with UW Health, has been engaged in the program’s recruitment and enrollment in Madison and Milwaukee since 2017. Interested in joining? Learn more or call (888) 294-2661. Be ONE in a million — volunteer.

Quiz

Data from All of Us participants has been included in ______ health studies. Make a guess.