Denny Appointed CEO of All of Us Research Program
Photo: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Dr. Joshua Denny has been selected as chief executive officer of the All of Us Research Program.
Currently a physician-scientist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, he brings a depth and breadth of experience in research and leadership. His areas of expertise include internal medicine, genomics, bioinformatics and pharmacogenomics. He also has experience with other large research efforts, including the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network, the Pharmacogenomics Research Network and the Implementing Genomics in Practice Network.
Denny is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American College of Medical Informatics and the American Society for Clinical Investigation, as well as a recipient of the Vanderbilt Chancellor Award for Research, the Homer Warner Award from the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and the AMIA New Investigator Award. He has a medical degree, a master’s degree in biomedical informatics and a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology, all from Vanderbilt.
In his new role, Denny will draw on his many skills and interests to oversee one of the largest and most comprehensive precision medicine research platforms in the world.
All of Us is working to gather data from one million or more people living in the United States to accelerate research and improve health. By taking into account individual differences in lifestyle, environment and biology, researchers will uncover paths toward better disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention for all.
Denny has been an important member of the All of Us team since the program’s inception. In his first role as a member of the advisory committee to the (NIH) director’s precision medicine initiative working group, he helped develop the program’s scientific blueprint. He then led the program’s initial prototyping project and now serves as principal investigator for the Vanderbilt-based All of Us Data and Research Center, which acquires, organizes and provides secure access to the program’s diverse dataset.
“All of Us offers the once-in-a-generation potential to radically accelerate our biomedical knowledge and improve health for everyone, worldwide,” Denny said. “I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
He will continue collaborating with both All of Us deputy director Dr. Stephanie Devaney, who has been promoted to chief operating officer, and Eric Dishman, the program’s current director, who will transition to a new role as chief innovation officer.
“Josh, Stephanie and Eric have worked together on All of Us from the beginning and share a common devotion to its goals and core values,” said NIH director Dr. Francis Collins. “I could not be more pleased to have them at the helm as we look forward to a new stage of scientific discovery.”—Kate Horowitz