By JIM VINES
The Department of Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program recently enrolled its 100,000th volunteer research participant, and now stands at more than 110,000 enrollees, marking a major milestone in the nearly 90-year history of VA research.
Veterans nationwide are helping to create a database that has the potential to help millions around the country, veterans and non-veterans alike. They are continuing to serve the nation well beyond the time they stopped wearing the uniform.
MVP which was launched in 2011, is a landmark research effort aimed at better understanding how genes affect health. Up to a million veterans are expected to enroll in the VA study over the next six years. Data and genetic samples collected through the study are stored securely and made available for studies by authorized researchers, with stringent safeguards in place to protect veterans private health information.
MVP is now at 40 medical centers nationwide, with additional VA sites opening for enrollment in the coming year. With more than 110,000 enrollees to date, MVP already exceeds the enrollment numbers of any single VA study or research program in the past. The VA could not achieve this without veteran volunteers. This is an extremely important partnership that is paving the road toward the world’s largest database of health information and improved health care for future generations.
MVP provides researchers with a rich resource of genetic, health, lifestyle and military exposure data collected from questionnaires, medical records and genetic analyses. By combining this information into a single database, MVP promises to advance knowledge about the complex links between genes and health. Authorized researchers are able to use MVP data to help answer important questions on a wide range of health conditions affecting veterans, from military related conditions such as post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury, to common chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
MVP related discoveries also promise to advance the field of personalized medicine, which aims to tailor medical care based on people’s individual genetic profiles. Personalized medicine is expected to yield more effective treatments and reduce costs, given its emphasis on prevention.
Veterans privacy and confidentiality are top priorities in MVP, as in all VA research. Extreme measures are taken to protect MVP participants personal information, including secure storage of data and samples, using a bar code system. Researchers approved for access to MVP data, do not receive the name, date of birth, social security number, or address of participating Veterans.
Furthermore, authorized researchers conduct their analysis only within the VA’s secure, centralized computing environment known as GenISIS (Genomic Information System for Integrated Science). If you feel as though participating on a voluntary basis is worthwhile, visit www.research.va.gov/MVP.
Local event
The Third Annual Christmas Tree Lighting at the National Vietnam War Museum is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 16, at 5 p.m. For more information contact the museum at (940) 325-4003, Jim Messinger at (940) 452-1470 or Jim Vines at (940) 445-0734. Also watch for information in local newspapers.
Speak to you again next week.
Jim Vines is commander of AmVets Post 133 in Mineral Wells.
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