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. 2025 Jan 1;32(1):38-50.
doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocae270.

Research for all: building a diverse researcher community for the All of Us Research Program

Rubin Baskir  1 , Minnkyong Lee  1 , Sydney J McMaster  1 , Jessica Lee  1 , Faith Blackburne-Proctor  1 , Romuladus Azuine  1 , Nakia Mack  1 , Sheri D Schully  1 , Martin Mendoza  1 , Janeth Sanchez  1 , Yong Crosby  1 , Erica Zumba  1 , Michael Hahn  1 , Naomi Aspaas  1 , Ahmed Elmi  1 , Shanté Alerté  2 , Elizabeth Stewart  3 , Danielle Wilfong  3 , Meag Doherty  1 , Margaret M Farrell  1 , Grace B Hébert  1 , Sula Hood  4 , Cheryl M Thomas  5 , Debra D Murray  6 , Brendan Lee  6 , Louisa A Stark  7 , Megan A Lewis  4 , Jen D Uhrig  4 , Laura R Bartlett  8 , Edgar Gil Rico  9 , Adolph Falcón  9 , Elizabeth Cohn  10 , Mitchell R Lunn  11 , Juno Obedin-Maliver  12 , Linda Cottler  13 , Milton Eder  14 , Fornessa T Randal  15 , Jason Karnes  16 , KiTani Lemieux  17 , Nelson Lemieux Jr  18 , Nelson Lemieux 3rd  18 , Lilanta Bradley  19 , Ronnie Tepp  20 , Meredith Wilson  20 , Monica Rodriguez  20 , Chris Lunt  1 , Karriem Watson  1
Affiliations

Research for all: building a diverse researcher community for the All of Us Research Program

Rubin Baskir et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. .

Abstract

Objectives: The NIH All of Us Research Program (All of Us) is engaging a diverse community of more than 10 000 registered researchers using a robust engagement ecosystem model. We describe strategies used to build an ecosystem that attracts and supports a diverse and inclusive researcher community to use the All of Us dataset and provide metrics on All of Us researcher usage growth.

Materials and methods: Researcher audiences and diversity categories were defined to guide a strategy. A researcher engagement strategy was codeveloped with program partners to support a researcher engagement ecosystem. An adapted ecological model guided the ecosystem to address multiple levels of influence to support All of Us data use. Statistics from the All of Us Researcher Workbench demographic survey describe trends in researchers' and institutional use of the Workbench and publication numbers.

Results: From 2022 to 2024, some 13 partner organizations and their subawardees conducted outreach, built capacity, or supported researchers and institutions in using the data. Trends indicate that Workbench registrations and use have increased over time, including among researchers underrepresented in the biomedical workforce. Data Use and Registration Agreements from minority-serving institutions also increased.

Discussion: All of Us built a diverse, inclusive, and growing research community via intentional engagement with researchers and via partnerships to address systemic data access issues. Future programs will provide additional support to researchers and institutions to ameliorate All of Us data use challenges.

Conclusion: The approach described helps address structural inequities in the biomedical research field to advance health equity.

Keywords: biomedical research; capacity building; research personnel; stakeholder engagement; training programs.

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Conflict of interest statement

J.O.-M. has consulted for Sage Therapeutics (2017), Ibis Reproductive Health (2017-2018, 2020-present), Hims, Incorporated (2019-present), Folx, Incorporated (2019-present), and Upstream Inc. (2024). None of these engagements influenced or are pertinent to the work described in this manuscript. All other authors have no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Social–ecological model of researcher engagement.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
All of Us registered researchers by self-described research role.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
All of Us researcher workbench user count by demographic categories underrepresented in the biomedical workforce (UBW), May 2020–March 2024. Abbreviations: R/E, racial and/or ethnic minority; SGM, sexual and/or gender minority.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
All of Us researcher workbench new users by demographic categories underrepresented in the biomedical workforce (UBW), May 2020–March 2024. Abbreviations: R/E, racial and/or ethnic minority; SGM, sexual and/or gender minority.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Institutions signing a Data Use and Registration Agreement (DURA) with All of Us, May 2020–March 2024. The total number of DURAs has increased at an approximately linear rate from 26 in May 2020 to 664 in March 2024. Abbreviations: AANHPI, Asian American- and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander-serving institutions; ANNH, Alaska Native- and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions; HBCU, Historically Black Colleges and Universities; HSI, Hispanic-serving institutions; MSI, minority-serving institutions; NASNTI, Native American-serving nontribal institutions; PBI, Predominantly Black institutions; TCU, Tribal colleges and universities. All analyses of MSIs were conducted post-DURA signing.
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References

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