In March, CPRN posted about its participation in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) research priority setting for the new “All of Us” research program. On Monday, NIH formally launched this program and is now enrolling people in the United States. This incredibly ambitious study will examine the DNA and track the health of 1,000,000 Americans for 10 or more years. It has the potential to create new learning about genetics and other factors that can influence disease and outcomes across the lifespan. It is free to enroll and will provide you with valuable information based on the data the study collects.

The study is open to anyone 18 years of age or older. For people with cerebral palsy, the “All of Us” research has the potential to provide invaluable learning about the long term outcomes in CP in comparison to the rest of the US population. In CPRN’s recently completed Research CP project, longitudinal studies were deemed to be one of the most important constructs for research into CP. While “All of Us” is not specifically focused on CP, the planned outcome measures could uncover important findings about the health impacts of having CP. CPRN will continue to follow this study and look for how we can collaborate with NIH to pursue our research agenda. We encourage you to visit the All of Us website to learn more about participating in this important research endeavor.