DNA and Research

What Is DNA? DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is the material that makes up genes. Your DNA determines traits like your hair color, eye color, and risk for developing some diseases. Your DNA is more than 99% the same as everyone else’s DNA. The tiny amount that is different is what makes each of us unique.

How DNA Can Advance Research

DNA is an important source of information about health. Researchers can study DNA and other information from All of Us participants to make discoveries.
They could:

• Learn more about what keeps us healthy or makes us sick
• Identify which treatments work best for different types of people
• Create medicines to treat or prevent common conditions, such as chronic pain or diabetes

What We Will Do With Your DNA

When you join All of Us, we will ask if you will let researchers study your DNA. If you agree and provide blood or saliva, we will analyze the DNA in the samples. Two ways we will do this are by:

• Genotyping, which looks at a small amount of DNA that gives us information about many of the common DNA differences among us
• Whole genome sequencing, which looks at almost all of your DNA

If researchers want to study DNA information from our participants, they must complete special training first. They also must agree to follow the rules and values of All of Us by signing our Data User Code of Conduct. Researchers will not be able to see personal details like your name or where you live. Visit the Research Hub to learn more.

Research DNA Results

Between 2020 and 2024, All of Us returned research DNA results to eligible participants. While we are no longer offering research DNA results, we are exploring other opportunities to return different types of results to participants