EP 148: Advancing veteran health through the Million Veteran Program with Dr. Mike Gaziano, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School
August 22, 2024
This week, we welcome Dr. Mike Gaziano, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MAVERIC). Mike is also one of two Principal Investigators of the Million Veteran Program - a national research project in the US looking at how genes, lifestyle, military experiences, and exposures affect health and wellness in veterans. This is a huge undertaking, as Mike describes this project as “the largest health system-based mega-biobank in the world".
Join Patrick and Dr. Mike for a discussion on the Million Veteran Program’s research, its integration of extensive data from veterans, and its role in shaping the future of personalized medicine for the veteran community.
0:00 Intro
2:00 Mike’s career prior to the Million Veteran Program (MVP), how Mike got to work on MVP, and important milestones in the project's evolution
8:30 Future goals for the Million Veteran Program in expanding and diversifying the research cohort
11:00 The roles of various omics in advancing the project's development
14:30 The most meaningful outcomes of the Million Veteran Program for Mike since its launch in 2011
19:00 Scaling opportunities after the MVP celebrated enrolling its millionth participant in November 2023
25:00 How to approach securing new funding sources as the MVP expands, while maintaining the trust of veterans in safeguarding their data
27:00 Veterans’ motivation for participating in the project: A New Way to Serve
31:00 How research directly informs patient care in the MVP
39:00 Closing remarks
Please consider rating and reviewing us on your chosen podcast listening platform!