Help build a healthier future for you, your family, and our community
Open for enrollment early 2027
What is Uniquely You?
Uniquely You is a community health initiative and research program brought to you by LCMC Health. The program helps you understand how your DNA impacts your health and aims to help improve access to more personalized healthcare, for you and your family, while supporting new research discoveries for our community.
Because this is a research program and to ensure accessibility, there is no cost to participate and health insurance is not required. We plan to enroll 100,000 participants throughout our region, who are over age 18, in this impactful program.
Program benefits
Gaining a better understanding of your genetic health risks through confidential results can help you and your healthcare provider personalize your healthcare and plan for a healthier future, for you and your family. All participants will learn about their inherited risk for:
- Common cancers: Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and the most common cause of hereditary colorectal (colon) cancer (Lynch syndrome).
- Heart disease: Hereditary high cholesterol (also known as familial hypercholesterolemia)
You also have the opportunity to learn about your regional ancestry and other traits like caffeine sensitivity, sleep patterns, and more!
The program will develop a secure and privacy-protected genetic and research database that, over time, will help researchers learn what may cause certain diseases, how to treat them more effectively, and help improve the standard of healthcare for all.
Understanding your health risk
Approximately one to two people out of 100 will have a genetic variant that may put them at risk for one of the conditions reported as part of this program. If you’re found to have an increased risk, a Uniquely You study team member will contact you to offer the opportunity to meet with a genetic counselor to discuss your results, at no cost to you. A genetic counselor is a medical professional specifically trained to help you understand how your genetic information may impact your health, as well as your family’s.
Privacy and security
Uniquely You will always take great care to protect your privacy. Your results will be kept strictly confidential and we will never share any personal data beyond what you have consented to. Further information can be found in our FAQs and consent form.
Helping our community through research
The information you consent to contribute to Uniquely You (coded from your medical record and your DNA sample) will be used by researchers in a confidential way to study how DNA may impact health, what may cause certain diseases, and to learn more about how to best treat them so people can live longer, healthier lives. All participants may receive updates on our research study and its impact.
Sign up to receive updates about enrollment
Who's involved
Uniquely You is a collaborative effort between:
LCMC Health – a New Orleans-based health system comprising eight hospitals and dozens of clinics serving communities throughout southeast Louisiana.
Helix- a leading precision healthcare company delivering powerful genetic information to you and your provider for proactive healthcare planning.