A Million Veterans Gave DNA To Aid Health Research. Scientists Worry the Data Will Be Wasted.
One of the world’s biggest genetic databases comprises DNA data donated over the years by more than a million retired military service members. It’s part of a project run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The initiative, dubbed the Million Veteran Program, is a “crown jewel of the country,” said David Shulkin, a physician who served as VA secretary during the first Trump administration. Data from the project has contributed to research on the genetics of anxiety and peripheral artery disease, for instance, and has resulted in hundreds of published papers. Researchers say the repository has the potential to help answer health questions not only specific to veterans — like who is most vulnerable to post-service mental health issues, or why they seem more prone to cancer — but also relevant to the nation as a whole.
Researchers now say they fear the program is in limbo, jeopardizing the years of work it took to gather the veterans’ genetic data and other information, like surveys and blood samples.
