The unhospital-like Plummer Building on the Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester, Minn.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the Mayo Clinic $142 million over five years to serve as the national biobank for the Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program.

The biobank  will collect specimens from at least 1 million Americans to be used to study variations in response to disease and treatment.

Volunteers will provide personal health information, submit to a physical exam, and agree to share their electronic health records (EHRs).

The grant can only expand Mayo’s prestige — and operating margins.