NIH All of Us Research Program Traveling Exhibit Visits the University of Arizona in Tucson!

Posted by Alan Carr on December 13th, 2017 Posted in: All of Us, Blog, Data, Outreach, Precision Medicine, Public Health

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by Yamila El-Khayat
Outreach Services Librarian
Health Sciences Library
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ

The NIH All of Us Research Program traveling exhibit came to the University of Arizona’s Banner Health Hospital Campus on December 7, 2017. It provided an excellent opportunity to visit and learn more about the All of Us Program. At the entry, there was an introductory video that clearly and simply introduced the All of Us project. The video focused on two individuals of differing ethnicities and lifestyles, but with the same diagnosis. It focused on the importance of molding medicine to each individual because of their differences. It was a very creative way of simply defining the concept of precision medicine.

Next in the exhibit was an area to answer a couple of questions on a tablet computer. Then your picture was taken and you received a color identification from the spectrum of options. The picture was then shown framed in the identity color. No definitions were supplied regarding the colors, but I ended up being red, which according to the person giving us the tour was rare, and her first experience seeing that color. It was a further illustration of the differences in each of us. Finally, we were shown other activities and noises and had to identify what we thought they were and then shown what they really were. This was a way to learn about differing perceptions, again emphasizing the importance of uniqueness in individuals. All in all, the exhibit was an informative and entertaining way to learn more about the All of Us Research Program.