Research & Technology

Spectrum Health receives National Institutes of Health funding for research into personalized health care

October 17, 2016

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that Spectrum Health, as part of a consortium of integrated health care systems, will receive funding to help the NIH implement a landmark research effort aimed at advancing personalized health care.

The NIH’s Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program is a longitudinal research effort that aims to engage 1 million or more people in the U.S. to understand how individual differences in lifestyle, environment and genetics can influence health and disease. Over the five-year period of study, the information will create a national resource for researchers hoping to answer important questions about disease prevention and treatment.

Led by Henry Ford Health System, the Trans-American Consortium for Health Care Systems Research Network includes Spectrum Health, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute in Dallas, Essentia Health in Minnesota and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. It is one of four consortiums announced today. In total, the four consortiums will receive between $5.5 million and $16 million in first-year funds from the NIH.

“We’re so pleased that Spectrum Health can bring the people of West Michigan a chance to participate in this important NIH study. This award acknowledges our dedication to excellence in clinical research and our commitment to delivering innovative care,” said Spectrum Health Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Research Steve Heacock.

The consortium will enroll 10,000 volunteers in the first year. Volunteers will be asked to undergo a physical evaluation, provide diet and lifestyle information and blood and urine samples, and share real-time information via smartphones or wearable devices.

“Precision medicine aims to treat each person based on  individual differences in lifestyle, environment and genetics and will have a dramatic impact on how Spectrum Health cares for patients in the future,” said Spectrum Health Vice President of Research Christopher Chambers, MD, PhD.

Spectrum Health has conducted clinical research for more than three decades and currently has about 700 open clinical trials involving 350 physician-scientists, 200 students and thousands of patients from nearly every specialty area, including cardiovascular, cancer, pediatrics, neurosciences, women’s health and orthopedics.

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