The REACH (Real-world Evidence to Advance Community Health) Program recently received a 5-year U24 award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to establish a longitudinal environmental epidemiology cohort. This award will enable statewide data collection from participants and piloting novel, participant-administered, blood collection tools. Implementation of these innovative tools will allow the REACH program to collect biospecimens from non-hospital-based participants in an efficient and cost-effective way.
The program will expand upon the infrastructure established by the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW) — a project funded by the Wisconsin Partnership Program during 2008–2023. Jomol Mathew, PhD is principal instigator of the initiative and will lead recruitment of new participants across the state and development of a robust data-sharing platform to ensure secure access and utility of data and biospecimens.
The project will lean into community partnerships to collect meaningful data and facilitate dissemination of research findings to participants and partner organizations. These trusted partnerships will inform development of recruitment strategies, enhance participant engagement in research, and facilitate data collection, by bridging the gap between researchers and communities. By maintaining and expanding these collaborations, the REACH program aims to recruit participants from diverse population groups across the state, fostering transparency and trust in the research process.
Additionally, the NIEHS funding will enable the REACH program to develop a data ecosystem for secure integrative environmental health research. This platform will feature a secure data repository, data dashboard, and a query tool. It will streamline the research processes starting from study feasibility assessments through collaborative data sharing necessary to ensure ethical and compliant research in adherence to federal regulations and institutional policies. This will include developing formal processes for data and biospecimen requests, as well as establishing a data governance committee and a scientific advisory board.
“Beyond its extramurally grant funded research activities, the REACH program will additionally serve as an important SMPH and UW Carbone Cancer Center shared service. Specifically, REACH will support multiple other research initiatives, facilitating participant engagement, particularly individuals from diverse communities across the state, and collecting biological specimens” says Audhya, Senior Associate Dean for Basic Research at the SMPH.
The REACH program’s expansion through this NIEHS award marks a significant advancement in environmental health research in Wisconsin and beyond. By fostering collaboration and creating a secure, integrative data platform, this initiative will serve as a vital resource for researchers, communities, and policymakers alike. The REACH team will continue its mission of advancing public health through supporting cutting-edge community-focused research to identify novel associations between various environmental exposures and health outcomes.
If you are interested in using REACH services, data, and/or biospecimens for your research, please request an initial consultation meeting. We can support your project development process, feasibility assessments and grant writing.