Journey, the All of Us Research Program bus, stopped at NIEHS Oct. 17-20 as part of its nationwide tour. The mobile unit and traveling exhibit featured videos, games, quizzes, and other interactive activities designed to help visitors of all ages learn about precision medicine and how they could join the All of Us Research Program, if they were eligible and interested. The experience also featured stories of people who have participated in the program and explained how their data could contribute to advancing health research.

The All of Us Research Program is an ambitious effort by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to gather biospecimens and health data from 1 million or more volunteers to accelerate research that may improve human health. The program recently announced plans to integrate environmental exposure data on study volunteers through an effort led in part by NIEHS.

“The wealth of data generated by the All of Us Research Program could help scientists spur significant breakthroughs in biomedical research by exploring how factors related to genetics, lifestyle, and the environment together may affect health,” said NIEHS and National Toxicology Program Director Rick Woychik, Ph.D.

The Journey bus has been touring across the United States with the goal of reaching communities that have historically been underrepresented in research, such as racial and ethnic minorities, rural residents, and sexual and gender minorities.

“I believe in the mission of the All of Us Research Program but was skeptical at first about participating,” said Andrea Davis, a program manager in the NIEHS Office of Management. “When the traveling exhibit came to NIEHS, I was able to find out more about the program and get all my questions answered. Then I was happy to sign up.”

During their stop at NIEHS, staffers from the All of Us Research Program were able to engage with more than 300 individuals. Of those individuals, 53 decided to fully enroll in the program onsite by providing physical measurements and biosamples, and another seven started the process by ordering salivary kits. Representatives from the Personalized Environment and Genes Study were also onsite throughout the week to facilitate recruitment efforts.

The schedule for 2023 included stops at places like the H Mart in Aurora, Colorado, Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the Vista Grande Public Library in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

If you missed the bus, you can still learn more and even enroll in the All of Us Research Program by visiting: https://www.joinallofus.org/.