All of Us Research Program: Home

The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) All of Us Research Program is building one of the largest biomedical data resources of its kind with health data from a diverse group of participants across the United States, including people and communities who have been left out of medical research in the past. Data include biological factors and social determinants of health on a large, inclusive scale that tracks participants as they move, age, and grow (longitudinal study design).  

Data sources include: 

• Electronic Health Records (EHR) standardized using the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM) 

• Biosamples and bioassays from blood, saliva, and/or urine samples 

• Survey responses on identities and backgrounds, overall health, lifestyles, medical histories, healthcare access, experiences with COVID-19, and more 

• Physical measurements when joining program 

• Heart rate, physical activity, and sleep as tracked by wearable devices

The diverse database, which is a part of the Precision Medicine Initiative, is intended to inform studies on a multitude of heath conditions.

Precision medicine is individualized care that considers the environment, lifestyle, family health history, and genetic makeup of a patient. It acknowledges that certain treatments work differently for people with different backgrounds, treats patients as individuals, and can reduce health care costs by providing the right treatment the first time.

Learn more about precision medicine in:

The goal of All of Us is to speed up health research discoveries, enabling new kinds of individualized health care. To make this possible, the program is building one of the world’s largest and most diverse databases for health research.

By working with participants across the country, collecting many types of information over time, and building a data platform that many researchers can use, All of Us may also shape how people do research in the future.

Mission carried through:

The All of Us Research Program is guided by a set of core values:

• Participation is open to all. People of every race, ethnicity, sex, gender, and sexual orientation are welcome. 
   
• Participants reflect the rich diversity of the United States. To develop individualized plans for disease prevention and treatment, researchers need more data about the differences that make each of us unique. Having a diverse group of participants can lead to important breakthroughs. 
   
• Participants are partners. Participants shape the program with their input and contribute to a project that may improve the health of future generations. They may also learn about their own health. 
   
• Transparency earns trust. We inform participants about how their data are used, accessed, and shared. Participants can choose how much information to share.
   
• Participants have access to their information. All of Us lets participants see their own information and records.
   
• Data are broadly accessible for research purposes. All of Us makes information about participants as a group available in a public database. Everyone can explore the database or use it to make discoveries. Data from individual participants are also available, but only for researchers who apply and are approved. Any personal information that identifies a participant, such as name or address, is removed from data that researchers can access.
   
• Security and privacy are of highest importance. Data are stored in a secure, cloud-based database. All systems meet the requirements of the Federal Information Security Management Act. Ongoing security tests help protect participant data. Learn more about how the All of Us Research Program protects data and privacy.

• Breadth. With a goal of enrolling one million or more participants in the United States, All of Us is building one of the largest health databases of its kind. As the amount of data grows, patterns will emerge that wouldn’t be visible at a smaller scale.
   
• Diversity. The program is enrolling a large group of people that reflects the diversity of the United States. This includes people who haven’t taken part in or have been left out of health research before. All of Us welcomes participants of all backgrounds and walks of life, from all regions of the country, whether they are healthy or sick.
   
• Depth. All of Us collects many types of data, including data from surveys, electronic health records, and blood and urine tests. Over time, participants may share data in new ways, using wearable fitness trackers and other technologies. 
   
• Duration. The initial plan for the program spans 10 years, but it may last even longer. Working with participants over the long term means the program can gather more information that will help researchers find out how health and disease change over time.
   
• Innovation. All of Us is working to take research to a new level. The program is working with participants across the country, collecting many types of information over time, and building a database that many researchers can use. This new model could shape how people do research in the future.
   
• Access. All of Us aims to make it easy for a variety of researchers—from university professors to citizen scientists—to make discoveries using the program’s data. Multiple systems and processes keep data secure and participants’ personal information private.
   
• Engagement. Participants are partners in All of Us. Participant input is welcome on every aspect of the program to make it better. Participants will have full access to data they share and information about all research projects that use All of Us data.