VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System

Million Veteran Program

The VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System was chosen to participate in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Million Veteran Program.  Veterans who would like to volunteer can come to the Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center, Main Hospital Building, Room B-102.

The Million Veteran Program is a trailblazing VA effort to consolidate genetic, military exposure, health, and lifestyle information together in one single database. The database will be used by authorized researchers with VA, other federal health agencies, and academic institutions within the U.S., in a secure manner, to conduct health and wellness studies to determine which genetic variations are associated with particular health issues. By identifying gene-health connections, the program could consequentially advance disease screening, diagnosis, and prognosis and point the way toward more effective, personalized therapies.

VA is superbly positioned to conduct complex genomics research thanks to its large, diverse, and altruistic patient population and other unrivaled assets. “We have a research establishment that is embedded in an integrated health care system with a state-of-the-art electronic health record, fully equipped genomic laboratories with the latest in technology, and top-caliber investigators, most of whom also provide direct patient care,” said Dr. Joel Kupersmith, VA’s chief research and development officer. “The merger of these distinct attributes, with the Veteran as a partner, makes VA uniquely able to conduct this ground breaking genomic research.”

For more information about MVP nationally, including the safeguards in place to protect the privacy and confidentiality of those Veterans who take part, visit www.research.va.gov/MVP.