Blueprint in hand, NIH embarks on study of a million people
By Jocelyn Kaiser,
Science Insider
| 09. 17. 2015
Untitled Document
Hoping to avoid the potholes that recently wrecked a similarly ambitious study of children, a panel of human geneticists, medical researchers, and other experts today proposed a blueprint for the National Institutes of Health's (NIH's) plan to recruit 1 million Americans for a long-term study of genes and health. The study, which hopes to recruit its first volunteers next year and could last a decade or longer, may become the largest national study of this kind in the world.
For NIH Director Francis Collins, the project, known as the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program, brings to fruition an idea he first proposed 11 years ago. “I am so excited to see this dream come to life,” Collins said in a statement released after he accepted the blueprint. “[It] will be a broad, powerful resource for researchers working on a variety of important health questions.”
President Obama called for a large national research study in January as part of a broader effort to use genetics and health information to tailor medical care to individuals. Several countries, including the...
Related Articles
A Review of Exposed by Becky McClain
“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
— John Lewis
Becky McClain became famous when she successfully sued Pfizer, one of the very largest pharmaceutical and biotech companies. She...
By Katherine Long, Ben Foldy, and Lingling Wei, The Wall Street Journal | 12.13.2025
Inside a closed Los Angeles courtroom, something wasn’t right.
Clerks working for family court Judge Amy Pellman were reviewing routine surrogacy petitions when they spotted an unusual pattern: the same name, again and again.
A Chinese billionaire was seeking parental...
By Sarah Kliff, The New York Times | 12.10.2025
Micah Nerio had known since his early 30s that he wanted to be a father, even if he did not have a partner. He spent a decade saving up to pursue surrogacy, an expensive process where he would create embryos...
By Carter Sherman, The Guardian | 12.08.2025
A huge defense policy bill, revealed by US lawmakers on Sunday, does not include a provision that would have provided broad healthcare coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF) for active-duty members of the military, despite Donald Trump’s pledge...
