Dr. Karriem Watson first became interested in medical research as a young boy when he lost his mother to cancer. Determined to help bring about a future with equitable and individualized treatment for all, he joined the All of Us Research Program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

At All of Us, Dr. Watson works with researchers, health care providers, community partners and program participants to build one of the most diverse health databases in history. Researchers can use this database to help create personalized medicine that takes into account an individual’s environment, biology, and lifestyle along with their family medical history and genetic makeup.

Dr. Watson pursued a solution to a problem he is personally passionate about. Understanding all of the pieces of a puzzle can help us create a better solution. All of Us uses genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors to help create better healthcare solutions that take into account the whole person.

Explore some of the interactive modules on the All of Us site to learn more about how these different factors affect our health.

Think about your environment and lifestyle. Where do you live? Is it a city? In the country? Surrounded by nature? Then think about the sorts of things you do. Do you spend a lot of time reading? Or maybe you play sports? How about how often you’re in front of a screen?

What makes you unique? How does your environment and lifestyle affect who you are and how you live in the world?

Using your imagination and creativity, tell the story of you and how your environment, lifestyle and background help shape who you are.

Use any maker method you want to tell the story of you. Create a picture collage using images and objects that represent you, tell a story using Scratch coding, create a sculpture with clay or follow our sewing guides to create a stuffie that represents you!

For makers in PreK-2st grade, we recommend using ScratchJr, instead of Scratch. Learn how to access ScratchJr and find some tutorials to get you started here.

Thinking of making a stuffie but not sure where to start? We’ve got some handy guides ready for download:

• Sew a Stuffie Guide: Hidden Seams
• Sew a Stuffie Guide: Whip Stitch

Remember to share your project by emailing a photo, video, or file to socialmedia@kid-museum.org. Include the first name and age of the maker along with a description of your project, and your project could be featured on our website and social media!