Henry Ford Health System in Detroit Kicks Off Nationwide Initiative with Event at Ford Field in Detroit

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Henry Ford Health System in Detroit today announced it has partnered with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to host a free public event from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, May 6, at Ford Field in Detroit. The event is one of seven events to be held across the United States to launch the All of Us Research Program, an effort to advance prevention, treatment, and care for people of all backgrounds in more personalized ways.

The program will gather information for 10 years or more to inform research studies on how individual differences in lifestyle, environment, and genetics influence a person’s health and disease risk. The goal is to enroll at least 1 million people from across the U.S. and from all backgrounds, regardless of health status.

Adult participants can enroll, and children will be able to enroll in future phases of the program. Participants have access to study information and data about themselves.

Henry Ford received a $60 million NIH funding award over five years for its role in All of Us. It leads one of the consortiums as part of a network of health care systems and medical centers across the U.S. tasked with enrolling participants.

Christine Cole Johnson, chair of Henry Ford’s Department of Public Health Sciences, and Brian Ahmedani, director of research for Henry Ford’s Behavioral Health Medicine, are co-principal investigators for the consortium.

“This is unlike anything we’ve done before in health-care science, and it will keep the United States at the forefront of medical research,” says Johnson. “The data that we collect will be broadly available to researchers for many different studies. The findings may enable doctors to specifically tailor recommended treatments to prevent or cure diseases or illnesses that will be known ahead of time to be effective for that specific individual patient.”

At the event, staff from Henry Ford will help participants create an All of Us account, which is the first step in the enrollment process. There will also be information stations about the program. Eric Dishman, director of the program, will speak to a national audience from Ford Field about the initiative during a Facebook Live simulcast at 4 p.m.

Other speakers include Debbie Dingell, U.S. Congresswoman, Suzanne White, chief medical adviser for the Detroit Health Department, and Richard Smith, a Henry Ford Ob/Gyn physician.

Activities include tours of the Detroit Lions locker room, Mini football clinics conducted by Detroit Lions youth football education coaching staff, basketball clinics hosted by Detroit Pistons’ Pistons Academy coaching staff, a performance by Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, and selfie photos that Detroit artist and muralist Hubert Massey will use to create a large-scale interactive mosaic display.

Admission and parking are free. Register onsite or here.