Million Veteran Program (MVP) researchers are committed to understanding the relationship between genes and health.

Imagine walking into your VA medical center and receiving screenings and treatments designed just for you. For example, your health care provider knows that you have a gene variant indicating you’re at higher risk for heart disease, so she takes extra care to monitor your blood pressure.

Or your mental health care provider knows that your particular genetic makeup means you’ll be more responsive to one drug to treat depression than another, so he is able to bring you effective treatment faster.

This is what MVP researchers hope to one day achieve for Veterans. It’s one of the largest, richest collections of information about genetics and lifestyle in the world.

More than 900,000 Veterans have joined so far

MVP researchers are committed to understanding the relationship between genes and health. Because of the participation of more than 900,000 Veterans, they have made discoveries around a range of health conditions faced by Veterans including:

  • Why people with African ancestry may be more at risk for severe kidney disease if they contract COVID-19.
  • How military experience and race might affect breast cancer risk.
  • The role of genetics as a risk factor for obesity, diabetes, and abnormal lipid levels—all drivers of heart disease.
  • How eating yogurt may be beneficial for your health.

Changing Veteran health care

MVP is committed to using its research findings to improve health and wellness for Veterans by accelerating the medical community’s advancement to personalized health care. The program also hopes to use research to improve treatments by informing the development of new drugs and/or re-purposing existing drugs for other conditions.

Want to improve the future of health for Veterans?

Research improves with every Veteran who joins because each person brings their unique genetic information, lifestyle and military experiences to the program. Researchers especially want to advance understanding of health conditions that impact women and people of African and Hispanic ancestry, as those groups have traditionally been under-represented in research. The more varied MVP’s data, the more discoveries researchers can make.

How do I enroll?

It’s easy to enroll in MVP. You can visit many VA facilities nationwide or enroll from the comfort of your home online at mvp.va.gov. Be assured that MVP is committed to keeping participant information protected. All information collected as a part of MVP is stored in a secure database only available for research purposes.

Learn more about how Million Veteran Program uses Veteran data

Check out the “MVP 101” video to learn more about how the program studies information provided by Veteran participants to make discoveries they hope will one day improve Veteran health.

Make your mark on the future of Veteran health care by joining more than 900,000 enrolled Veterans.

Topics in this story

MIllion Veteran Program

Leave a comment

The comments section is for opinions and feedback on this particular article; this is not a customer support channel. If you are looking for assistance, please visit Ask VA or call 1-800-698-2411. Please, never put personally identifiable information (SSAN, address, phone number, etc.) or protected health information into the form — it will be deleted for your protection.

19 Comments

  1. Steve C October 30, 2022 at 19:09

    It seems some people are confused about this. They’re not taking your DNA and making an android; this is simply comparing diseases suffered with genetic makeup.

  2. Denny October 25, 2022 at 14:17

    Thanks for developing this innovating program and ALL the other things you ALL do for us !!!

  3. Carlton I Sargent II October 25, 2022 at 06:33

    I enrolled years ago, and I used to receive timely compensation, although that was not my motivation for completing these surveys. This time around it has been nearly 6 months and still no hint of compensation, but many excuses were offered for not receiving compensation payments. I have heard that it was direct deposited into my checking account, sent to my home and then returned to the issuing agency and supposedly reissued to my apartment but nothing has been received.

  4. Don Sherrill October 24, 2022 at 18:46

    I’m 73 and a 100% disabled Vietnam combat veteran. I have had numerous health issues in the last 20 years most relating to heart, diabetes and ptsd relating to my service in Vietnam. I’ve been using the VA since 2012 in addition to public health care facilities with Novant and Atrium big providers in my area. As far as getting timely appointments, being worked in in an emergency the VA comes in a distant 3rd place. Appointment cancelations are common within the VA network compared to Novant and Atrium. I’ve had many surgeries and other serious health issues in the last decade and have found it much easier to get help quickly from Novant and Atrium vs the VA. I have several great VA doctors but they are limited as to what they can do due to the VA system. The VA telephone system needs to be changed so that a veteran can talk to a person fairly
    quickly! I believe that the VA will never compare to outside the VA care unless it is privatized and get the government bureaucracy out of the equation!!????

  5. Bruce Schrager October 23, 2022 at 01:13

    yes I can use some assistance I’m a veteran my name is Bruce Schrager and I have a heart attack I saw the car I wanted to the VA downtown Philly and all he said is for me to take an aspirin a baby aspirin once a day and I have a couple medications one says prevent heart attack and stroke and I would like to know if I could take ENTRUSTO

  6. Sherrie October 22, 2022 at 16:35

    This has nothing to do with the above topic. But, I do want to share. My husband is a disabled veteran. We went to the FT Wayne VA hospital for a follow up with his primary care doctor. Well, the doctor is so rude, and the nurse told us that she could careless about us vets and she is just there working for the pay!!!
    My husband and I were floored over her comment.

    • M.L. Ewing October 25, 2022 at 19:32

      I always tell Veteran’s to call the hotline number, if anything, get your concerns heard. Because complaining at local level, does nothing. Most of the time our local VA Administrators aren’t for sh*t and doing it just for pay also. White House VA Hotline: 1-855-948-2311.

  7. 58D October 21, 2022 at 22:50

    Given that this story is posted on a VA.gov website and they left a space for comments, I sincerely hope someone will reply to all these veteran’s concerns on issues they’ve experienced with this program.

  8. H. Firestone October 21, 2022 at 08:24

    baloney ‘ the clerks keep you waiting for 3 hours, call tour name and do nothing! My last visit was tortuous. they ridiculed my wife! admin. is so feeble, reeorganize into the way it was when I worked at the VA 73-77 as chief of my service at Kirkwood Hwy Delaware

  9. Deidre Burton October 21, 2022 at 00:09

    I am enrolled a number of
    years now but I get no feed
    back

  10. Bill Carlson this the same email October 20, 2022 at 18:51

    I’ve tried to get enrolled for over 3 days. VA will not recognize my email. Then they send me follow ups Congratulating me on enrollment? Then they want to have Me rate their customer service. You guessed it! I receive All their messages on My Email! My Email Address is more than 25 years older, my Email is Active/Current But Rejected by I’d.me and a couple of others ways they said I could use. So they are Mailing an App. After 5-6 emails by me they are Mailing me an Application too! Help!

  11. Ron October 20, 2022 at 17:53

    I joined this program earlier this year and now I’m being solicited by the VA to be part of a survey for a matter totally unrelated to me and I don’t like that survey subject. I’m not sure if it’s related to this program but I never had that in past.

    I’d stop being part of this project if I knew how.

  12. Carla valmknt October 20, 2022 at 17:44

    I’ve given my information and blood to MVP. Nothing in return. If giving my blood give the results doctors or providers need. Why aren’t they telling me . It’s my blood I should get some kind of incite .

  13. John October 20, 2022 at 11:45

    I joined the MVP a few years ago and fully support what they are trying to accomplish. The VA can accomplish this while caring for veterans at the same time and I am happy with the way I have been treated by them. Gene mapping is the next step in improving healthcare for everyone and I am happy that the VA got into it early.

  14. Concerned Veteran October 20, 2022 at 06:16

    This is veteran datamining at it finest. This isn’t about genetic mapping for variants, no matter how the VA wants to spin it. First you have to improve the availability and accessibility of healthcare services to veterans. There is 18 million veterans in the US but a little over 9 million receives services from the VA, why is that? THE VA FOCUS should be on improved communication strategies and improved services for veterans not wasteful research on gene variants that takes years to do. Monies can be better spent on other things such improved customer service, accountability and hiring people that understand veteran culture. Healthcare services should start the day the veteran is discharged from the miliary not delayed by red tape. VA leaders say they are committed to veteran healthcare but are they really? They are playing russian roullette with our lives. We are not test subjects to map gene variants, it is sad that they already have over 900,000.

    • Robert Clark October 21, 2022 at 08:17

      Fix the system❗❗I was told my meds would be free..then got bills for over $1000? + Cannot afford. They turned it over to Collection with the Treasury Dept…they took money out of my Social Security..not enough to live on as is. DISGRACE. I wrote my Congressman..no response. THIS IS THE THANKS I GET FOR SERVING???

  15. Michael Weiss October 20, 2022 at 04:15

    I would be wary about giving the VA any more personal information. I have been going to the VA for 30 years and I have watched them change a decent and honest medical facility to a social engineering experiment. I hear you Earl. I haven’t been for years. About the only way to get an appointment is to go to the emergency department.

  16. Richard W. Johnson October 20, 2022 at 03:07

    I went through the steps to get the blood sample kit sent to my home, but was rejected. I don’t know why. They did not give a reason. The nearest approved VA center to take a blood sample is 3-1/2 hours drive away. I am not doing that.

  17. Earl m Fulmer October 19, 2022 at 14:39

    Get the Healthy Vet site fixed so the old vets can use it like we did before It is a shame that the program worked for years the way it was now I can.t use it and no one wants to help They give you phone numbers to call for help call the number and your are put on hold till you get tired and hang up . will some one please help

Comments are closed.

More Stories