NIH All of Us Launches

It’s official—the All of Us Research Program launched on May 6, 2018.  For those of you unfamiliar with the All of Us Research Program, formerly known as the Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program, it is an ambitious effort to recruit at least one million participants in the the United States for precision medicine research.  Recruitment […]

A Spotlight on Diversity in Precision Medicine Research and Call for Manuscripts

The consensus is clear:  there is a need for diversity in precision medicine research.  Most of the current dialogue on diversity centers on study populations.  Genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which began in earnest in 2007 with publication of the landmark Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium study of seven common diseases (PMIC2719288) and a trio of […]

An update on the Lacks family

Our second annual symposium featured members of the Henrietta Lacks family Shirley Lacks and Veronica (Robinson) Spencer.  Ms. Lacks is the sister-in-law of the late Henrietta Lacks, and she was good friends with Henrietta’s daughter Deborah.  Veronica (Robinson) Spencer is the great-granddaughter of Henrietta Lacks. The Lacks family story has become and continues to be […]

Welcome to the Symposium Blog!

We have now organized two symposia focusing on big data and precision medicine topics with a third one in the works focusing on measuring exposures.  In an effort to sustain the dialog initiated by each of these events, we are hosting a blog on this website.  This blog will feature short opinion pieces and articles […]

Dr. Marylyn Ritchie and DiscovEHR

In biomedical research, “precision medicine” is the buzz-word or phrase du jour permeating the latest conference abstracts, manuscripts, and grant proposals.  Precision medicine is broadly defined as using a data-driven approach to offer tailored treatments or prevention strategies to patients.  The recent popularity of the precision medicine term is likely due to the 2015 White […]