Oklahoma City, OK — Announced today, BioLinked, a startup founded by Our Blood Institute (OBI), is joining Scripps Research’s nationwide consortium of partners working together to build one of the largest, most diverse health research databases of its kind.
The initial funding of $7.1 million will support BioLinked’s work to enroll and engage blood centers partners and participants in the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program, with the potential to renew the award every year for four years. The All of Us Research Program is a historic effort to engage one million diverse participants from across the United States with goals to accelerate research and improve health equity.
“To truly advance research, we must ensure that our studies reflect the diversity of the populations we aim to serve. Thus, no one is left behind in the pursuit of better healthcare,” said the subaward’s principal investigator, BioLinked Executive Director Brad Bryan, Ph.D. MBA. “I am grateful and exhilarated to support the All of Us Research Project’s noble initiative to expand the representation of underrepresented groups in biomedical research.”
As the parent organization for BioLinked, OBI will be the first blood center to join as a partner under BioLinked’s subaward through Scripps. OBI is at the forefront of blood center innovation. For decades, OBI has advanced the science of blood banking by conducting research, developing innovative technology solutions and most recently, connecting potential research participants with clinical studies.
“We are honored to be a part of this groundbreaking effort by the NIH to accelerate health research through our partnership with Scripps Research,” said OBI CEO, Dr. John Armitage. “By joining the All of Us Research Program, our blood donors and drive sponsors will surely be excited by this new opportunity that facilitates an understanding of how biology, lifestyle, and environment affect human health.”
With 16 donor centers across Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas, Our Blood Institute is the sixth-largest independent blood center in the nation and serves as the nonprofit blood provider for patients at more than 240 hospitals and medical facilities.
BioLinked connects extraordinary blood donors with the world’s most promising research by combining a novel, community-based software platform with the strength of lasting relationships with biomedical organizations, blood centers, and ideally matched participants and donors.
BioLinked and Scripps Research are funded by National Institutes of Health Award: OT2OD035580.
