Personalized cancer risk screening and guidance

GARDE: Scalable Clinical Decision Support for Individualized Cancer Risk Management

NIH-funded research Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah · NIH-11176702

This project uses electronic health records and automated chatbots to find people who may benefit from genetic testing or different cancer screenings and guide them through testing and results.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUtah State Higher Education System--University of Utah NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Salt Lake City, United States)
Project IDNIH-11176702 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

You'll have your medical record analyzed automatically to spot family history and other risk factors that meet guidelines for genetic testing or tailored screening. When the system finds someone, it can send outreach messages and educational conversations through automated chatbots and offer access to genetic testing. The tools are built to work with common hospital EHRs (Epic and Cerner) using standards like FHIR and CDS Hooks and have been piloted at academic centers. The project aims to expand those deployments so more patients can be identified and helped within routine care.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates are patients whose electronic health records show family history or other risk factors for cancer, especially those receiving care at participating hospitals or clinics.

Not a fit: People who get care outside participating EHR systems, have no recorded risk factors, or who opt out of digital outreach may not receive benefit from this program.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, more people at risk for hereditary cancers could be identified earlier and offered appropriate testing and screening.

How similar studies have performed: The GARDE system has already been integrated with Epic and Cerner and deployed at two academic medical centers, showing feasibility though broader effectiveness is still being studied.

Where this research is happening

Salt Lake City, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions Advanced CancerBreast CancerCancer BurdenCancer CenterCancer Research Programs
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.