Michelle Anderson recently learned her body metabolizes medicines more slowly than average.
It was a small piece of information, but a “eureka” moment for Anderson, “not because it was a surprise, but because it was a validation of what I know about my body.”
Now, when she gets a prescription, she said she feels empowered to tell her doctor that she’ll likely need a low dose – not based on her own instincts, but because of what her genetics showed. “It gives you information that makes you somewhat on an equal playing field when you go to your doctor’s office.”
Anderson, 54, a “gently retired” registered nurse from Boston, said that’s just one of the benefits she’s received by participating in the federal All of Us Research Program.
The program, run by the National Institutes of Health, has analyzed the genes of about 150,000 volunteers, including Anderson.
About half the participants who have had their genes sequenced so far identify as belonging to a racial or ethnic minority and even more are either low-income, have a disability, live in a rural location or are otherwise historically underrepresented in research.
