All of Us research program collects DNA in Montana

BUTTE — Have you ever wanted to know more about your ancestors’ genetic traits?

How about if those traits impact your current health?

Well, a team of health advocates from the All of Us research program is traveling the U.S. to help medical researchers better understand how to make healthcare more personalized by collecting DNA samples from one million people.

All of Us research program collects DNA in Montana

A pamphlet for the research program states that current health care is often “one-size-fits-all” but with data collected from the nationwide All of Us Journey, the National Institute of Health hopes to speed up health research by collecting DNA samples from one million participants across the United States to help benefit diverse communities benefit from future medical advances.

“The benefits of participating and actually collecting a DNA sample is that participants will be receiving genetic traits results back to them and also ancestral reports. So basically from 400 to 500 where their ancestors come from,” says Bryanna Enriquez, a member of the All of Us Journey advocates.

Enriquez and several others from her team set up tents filled with information and brightly colored photographs. She says after participants fill out a survey and give consent they will receive a DNA kit. Once the samples are collected results from their DNA samples will be sent back to participants.

Results may even help participants identify diseases or cancers that may be common to their ancestral data.

Personal information like names and addresses will be removed from all data collected and DNA samples are stored in a secure biobank in order to protect participants.

The project is funded by the National Institute of Health and will make a four-day stop at The Museum of the Rockies beginning on Tuesday from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. from Sept. 24-27 in Bozeman.