UA & Banner Earn up to $60M Award

To the UA Community,

The strong partnership between the University of Arizona and Banner Health is transforming health care in our state and region and establishing a new paradigm for precision medicine.
 
This morning we will publicly announce the largest National Institutes of Health (NIH) award in Arizona history. The University of Arizona Health Sciences (UAHS) and Banner Health have received a $9 million award from the National Institutes of Health for the All of Us Research Program, which is expected to total $60 million over the next five years.
 
This landmark effort aims to improve health outcomes and fuel development of new treatments for disease. It will also catalyze a new era of evidence-based, precise preventive care and medical treatment options, especially because it includes and partners with our region’s Native American and Hispanic communities. This will help ensure that the program reflects and best serves our diverse population.
 
This award started as the NIH Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program in June 2016 and is now transitioned to the All of Us Research Program with a commitment of more funding than originally awarded by NIH.
 
The original award was planned to total $43.3 million over five years. It totaled $8.7 million before it transitioned to this new phase. The transition to the new $60 million award for the All of Us Research Program will provide the UA Health Sciences-Banner Health partnership as much as $12 million per year through 2023, pending progress and the availability of funds, according to the NIH.
 
The most important part of this program is that 1 million people across the country will help to create a new era of medicine. Researchers, health-care providers and participants will work together to build one of the world’s largest and most diverse data sets for precision health research.
 
The UA’s partnership with Banner Health is a primary reason we were among the first organizations in the country selected to participate in this important NIH initiative. After a year of beta testing, the national program will launch May 6, with enrollment open nationwide.
 
Full details about the award will be available on the UANews website later today.
 
I am incredibly grateful towards all the people from UAHS and Banner who worked to make this program a reality. It has created 100 new full-time research jobs for the state of Arizona. It aspires to transform health and health care treatment for all of us. Thank you to everyone whose effort made this possible.
 
Sincerely,
 
Robert C. Robbins, M.D.
President
The University of Arizona