This collaboration and sharing of medical information makes the area of Minnesota and Wisconsin one of the few places where “population-based” research can be accomplished.

Using the Rochester Epidemiology Project, we can figure out the true frequency of certain conditions (e.g., how many new persons develop heart disease each year among 100 persons aged 70 to 79 years) and the true success of treatments (e.g., how many persons will respond positively to a new anti-depressant medication). The REP has been supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health for more than 55 years. More recently, the REP has also been supported by the Mayo Clinic Research Committee and by data access fees paid annually by individual projects using the REP for their research.
 
Browse through these videos to learn more about the history of the Rochester Epidemiology Project.

“The REP allows the study of health and disease across the entire community, from birth to death, and from primary to specialty care.”
	– Barbara Yawn, MD, REP Co-Principal Investigator 2006-2015

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Medical Collaborators

 

Dr. Henry S. Plummer devised a system to collect and store each patient’s medical information in one permanent record.

Dr. Leonard T. Kurland helped launch the Rochester Epidemiology Project.