NIH’s All of Us Research Program Begins 2024 National Mobile Tour

April 16, 2024
A colorful mobile bus with wording that shows the All of Us Research Program is parked on the NIH campus while a person walks by looking at the bus.

Tour will visit more than 80 communities to bring medical research to underrepresented groups 

The National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program is traveling to dozens of cities and towns from coast to coast engaging communities historically underrepresented in medical research. The 2024 nationwide tour, called “the All of Us Journey,” begins April 16th with stops planned in California to the Midwest and throughout New England. 
 
The All of Us Journey mobile exhibit shares information about the program’s goal to build one of the most diverse health databases in history. With robust data, researchers can learn more about how biology, lifestyle, and environment affect health and disease. 
 
“Where we live, our zip code, or ‘ZNA,’ is as important as our DNA,” said Karriem Watson, D.H.Sc., M.S., M.P.H., chief engagement officer of All of Us. “We all experience health differently and have different exposures. When people from all communities and backgrounds have the chance to take part in research, we can learn more about these influences and find more tailored ways to prevent and treat disease.”  

A person is stepping up to a medical research exhibit and stops to lean over to read information about the All of Us Research Program.

The colorful mobile exhibits feature interactive activities, videos, puzzles, a digital gaming hub, and an augmented reality experience, all designed to showcase the power of precision medicine. A multilingual staff on each tour answer community members’ questions about the program. No appointments are necessary to attend the stops.

The tour is integral to the program’s efforts to advance equity and inclusion in research. All of Us aims to enroll one million or more participants who reflect the diversity of the United States and its territories. The Journey partners with community organizations in each city to reach participants in areas that don’t have easy access to All of Us enrollment centers.   

“By engaging participants from diverse communities, we can begin to change the one-size-fits-all approach to medicine,” said Holly A. Garriock, Ph.D., chief cohort development officer of All of Us. 

The week of April 16th, the Journey begins in three regions: 

  1. On the East Coast, the mobile tour will be in Ohio for two weeks, then in early May heading to Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, New York. For the first time, the tour will make stops in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The tour also includes stops in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, and a final stop in Florida. 
  2. In the central region, the tour begins in Texas where it will spend a month traveling from Brownsville to Houston to El Paso. The tour also includes stops in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Indiana. 
  3. The third Journey tour kicks off in San Jose, California, and then moves to Stockton and Los Angeles. These stops are followed by visits in Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Washington State, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota throughout the summer and into the fall. 

Many national and community partner organizations are supporting the Journey tour, including the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, PRIDEnet, RTI International, the National Baptist Convention, the American Association on Health and Disability, FiftyForward, the Asian Health Coalition, and the Network of the National Library of Medicine.  

Since the All of Us Journey started in 2018, the mobile tour has expanded to three tour routes across the country. The tour has included nearly 300 stops in 42 states and the District of Columbia, registering more than 14,000 participants. 

To learn more about the Journey tour and specific stops, visit www.joinallofus.org/journey-and-events.