For the last two years, I’ve had a singular goal at work: reach Veterans with information about VA’s Million Veteran Program.
For me, this mission is personal—my Dad is a retired Air Force pilot (pictured here) and my husband is a Marine Corps pilot. I grew up with the smell of jet fuel. It’s nostalgic; it reminds me of Christmas parties at my Dad’s squadron. I also know that it’s a military exposure, one that thousands of service members and Veterans have experienced.
The Million Veteran Program (MVP) studies ways that genes interact with military exposures to affect health. I’m passionate about MVP because it studies how military exposures may impact the health of my loved ones.
But here’s the brilliant part of this program: not only can MVP study the effects of jet fuel and other military exposures; they can also study essentially every single health condition in existence. You name it, MVP is probably studying it. A program of this size enables profound research—the likes of which will transform health care forever.
Thanks to over 990,000 Veterans who have already joined, MVP is making discoveries in areas like heart health, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, PTSD, depression, suicide prevention, military exposures, and so much more.
I’m sharing this story today because we’re so close to reaching the historic million Veteran milestone (only 10,000 to go)! Any Veteran can join MVP online at www.mvp.va.gov. Please share this—let’s reach one million together!
This is great! 🇺🇸