Powerful science for integrating genomic and environmental data to understand human health
PEGS, the Personalized Environment and Genes Study (formerly named the Environmental Polymorphisms Registry or EPR), collects health, exposure, medical and genetic data to discover how our environment and genes affect our health. Researchers use the data to learn more about how our environment, diet, lifestyle, and genes affect our health. By joining this study, you will be supporting new scientific discoveries that could improve the prevention, treatment and understanding of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, allergies, asthma, cancer, and many others.
Who Can Participate?
- Adults living in North Carolina
What Is Required?
- Blood and urine samples.
- Completion of surveys to answer questions about your health, diet, lifestyle, and other environmental exposures.
- Periodically complete recontact surveys to update your information.
- Optional sample collections include stool, saliva, dust in your home, and others.
- Compensation is dependent on surveys completed and samples collected.
Why Should I Join?
- Help scientists find genetic and environmental factors that increase our risk of various diseases.
- Help scientists better understand the causes and mechanisms of various diseases.
- Help scientist find better ways to prevent diseases. .
Who Is Running the Study?
The study is run by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Lead Researchers

Janet E. Hall, M.D., M.S.
janet.hall@nih.gov
Janet E. Hall, M.D., M.S. is an internationally known clinician and clinical researcher. She received her Masters of Medical Sciences in exercise physiology and her M.D. and Internal Medicine training at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. She completed her training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and rose to the rank of Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She had continuous NIH extramural grant funding until moving to the NIEHS intramural program in 2015. Hall was elected to the Association of American Physicians in recognition of her contributions to both the science and academics of medicine and, as a leader in the field, is a former President of the Endocrine Society.
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Research Webpage

Alison A. Motsinger-Reif, Ph.D.
alison.motsinger-reif@nih.gov
Alison Motsinger-Reif, Ph.D., is Chief of and a Principal Investigator in the Biostatistics and Computational Biology Branch. Overall, her group focuses on the development and application of modern statistical approaches for understanding the etiology of common, complex diseases. As the field of human genetics increasingly accepts a complex model of phenotypic development involving many genetic and environment factors, it is increasingly important to develop analytical strategies that incorporates this complexity.
Research Webpage
Study Staff

Farida S. Akhtari, Ph.D.
farida.akhtari@nih.gov
For More Information About This Study
- Call: 1-855-MYNIEHS (1-855-696-4347)
- Email: myniehs@nih.gov
- Protocol Number: 04-E-0053
- Study Background and Protocols
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