The All of Us research initiative spent the week on Butler’s campus to promote diversity in building a comprehensive healthcare database. Photo courtesy of Naya Weems.
MAIRIN MCCARTHY | STAFF REPORTER | mkmccarthy@butler.edu
The opportunity to contribute to one of the largest health databases is at the fingertips of Butler students, thanks to Students of Color Allied in Healthcare (SOCAH).
SOCAH is a student organization open to all future healthcare professionals, dedicated to advocating for patients and providers of color. Their mission is to promote diversity, inclusion and a supportive, unified environment that empowers members and upholds their core values.
During a week-long event, SOCAH partnered with the All of Us research initiative to raise awareness about the importance of diversifying health history. Historically, health research has often excluded marginalized communities, neglecting their individualized health needs.
Sophomore healthcare and business major Tiffany Hoang serves as one of the co-presidents of SOCAH.
Hoang is passionate about promoting SOCAH and spreading awareness through campus events.
“[SOCAH] is about finding the voice or advocacy for students of color who want to pursue healthcare,” Hoang said. “It’s open [to] everyone, not just [depending on] your identity. We [often host] collaborations with external communities [similar to the partnership with All of Us].”
The All of Us program, led by the National Institutes of Health, seeks to engage over 1 million individuals from diverse backgrounds. Its goal is to build a comprehensive health database while offering insights into a person’s genetic ancestry, susceptibility to certain diseases and response to specific medications.
The event, held from Oct. 8-11, featured the program’s traveling exhibit and shared information about All of Us’s goal of creating a diverse health database. Tour managers contributed insights about the program daily from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. along with informative sessions and giveaways. Students had the opportunity to enter a raffle drawing, decorate pumpkins and meet Butler Blue IV.
Individuals could sign up for an All of Us account, complete a basic information survey and electively provide DNA samples, such as blood, urine and saliva for further analysis. The testing was offered in Hinkle Fieldhouse after students completed the required forms.
Tita Hall, a tour manager for All of Us, is highly committed to the program’s mission of advancing individualized health research.
“The All of Us research program is dedicating our time to help speed up the development of individualized health research so we can have better medicine and better treatment for each person, instead of this one size fits all we currently have,” Hall said. “Our ethnicities, nutrition, lifestyles [and] environments affect all of our DNA.”
Participating in All of Us is free and requires minimal time commitment. To get involved, individuals need to complete a survey, provide biosamples and dedicate a few hours to the program.
Naya Weems, co-president of SOCAH and senior healthcare and business major, feels a sense of fulfillment as the week-long event concludes.
“I feel really … gratified by [the event],” Weems said. “[The event] got a lot of attention and students were super open-minded to [participating]. This is the biggest event [SOCAH] has ever had, and so I feel really honored [to be a part of it].”
SOCAH is also involved with an upcoming blood drive with the Versiti Blood Center of Indiana on Oct. 14, hosting a food drive starting Nov. 1 and organizing a charity gala in the spring.
