Partnering with the Public for Biomedical Research Seminar Series: “Count Me In; Partnering with Patients to Accelerate Cancer Discoveries”

In this seminar, Nikhil Wagle, M.D., and Corrie Painter, Ph.D., will speak on behalf of the non-profit organization “Count Me In.” Stewarded by four leading entities (Emerson Collective, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the Biden Cancer Initiative), the organization uses a patient-partnered approach to collect clinical information, personal experiences, and tumor samples for genetic analysis, which are then de-identified and shared with the cancer research community through freely available databases. Count Me In seeks to enroll more than 100,000 patients living with all major cancer types—as well as rare cancers—in the hope that this will prompt a cultural shift that empowers patients, researchers, and clinicians to work in partnership and accelerate medical progress.

The Partnering with the Public for Biomedical Research Seminar Series is intended to raise interest in and awareness of the broad range of citizen science and crowdsourcing approaches available to accomplish biomedical research. The series will explore different topics involving data and citizen science and address key considerations in this field (including engaging different communities, data collection, communication and dissemination, and ethics and privacy).

Individuals with disabilities who need Sign Language Interpreters and/or reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should email citizenscience@nih.gov, and/or call the Federal Relay (1-800-877-8339) two business days in advance of November 10.