“The Million Veteran Program is almost nearly halfway toward meeting its initial goal of registering one million veterans in a national research program,” stated Ms. Sara Godina, a research assistant at the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. Ms. Godina spoke at the monthly meeting of Chapter #63 (Clermont County) Disabled American Veterans (DAV) held on October 5, 2015.

“The Million Veteran Program (MVP) is a five to seven year program designed to help VA medical researchers understand how genes affect health and illness, with the overall goal of improving health care for our veterans,” explained Raymond Hutchinson, the adjutant of Chapter #63 of the DAV unit.

According to Ms. Godina, one way of understanding the medical relationship between genes and health is to collect genetic blood samples and health information from large groups of individuals, such as military veterans.

Researchers then use this collected data to learn how genes, lifestyle and military experiences affect health and disease.

“As of October 5, 2015, the MVP has collected blood samples from 416,183 military veterans,” said Ms. Godina, a Clermont County resident. China has the world’s largest genetic data base with over half a million blood samples.

The study of genes is important because genes carry instructions for building and maintaining our bodies. Genes determine the color of our hair and eyes, our height and other personal features. Small differences in our genes explain why some people, such as veterans, contract diseases and others do not.

This study of genes is focused on military veterans because genes interact with lifestyle factors and environment, which influences risk for illnesses, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Military veterans have been exposed to many adverse diseases and environments during their tours of active duty overseas. Having a better understanding of how genes work may help VA researchers to prevent and improve treatment of illnesses for our veterans.

Based upon the progress that the MVP has achieved, the VA announced that new studies will utilize genetic data from the MVP to answer key questions on three focused areas of heart disease, kidney disease and substance abuse. “These are high priority medical concerns affecting our veterans today,” noted Adjutant Hutchinson.

Currently the MVP has become the nation’s largest database linking genetic, clinical lifestyle and military exposure information. “The VA is already using the MVP data for studies on PTSD, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder,” explained Godina. “The Cincinnati VA Medical Center is one of only 50 sites in the United States that is collecting the data and obtaining blood samples. The blood samples are eventually stored in a two-story, liquid nitrogen-cooled freezer bank in Boston, which keeps the samples at -80 degrees Celsius.”

MVP researchers, like Ms. Godina, have a significant advantage when analyzing the data because veterans access their health care via an integrated system of electronic health care records, which follow patients from location to location.

Several members of Chapter #63 (Clermont County) have already participated in the MVP, including myself,” stated Chapter Commander John Plahovinsak, “and other veterans are encouraged to participate and volunteer for the program.”

“DAV veterans from Clermont County have volunteered in the past to make a difference for their country, and this is another opportunity for them to help transform VA health care, not only for themselves, but for the future generation of military veterans,” concluded Adjutant Hutchinson.

Any veteran that wants to participate in the Million Veteran Program can obtain information on it by visiting www.research.va.gov/mvp or by calling toll-free 866-441-6075.