
How genomics researchers can save their participants’ lives
“Genomic researchers who are returning results to participants need to look at how to incorporate sequencing now, not later.”
“Genomic researchers who are returning results to participants need to look at how to incorporate sequencing now, not later.”
The MGB Biobank returned actionable genetics results to 256 participants, 76.3 percent of whom were unaware that they carried a variant that put them at increased risk. The New York Times reports on this return of results process, outlining that some participants wanted to learn this information and others did not.
“Published in the American Journal of Human Genetics on Monday, the study describes takeaways from an effort by BWH’s Genomes2People (G2P) program to disclose actionable genetic results to research participants who volunteered to contribute to the Mass General Brigham Biobank.”
Press Release: In a new study published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School describe lessons learned from their experience disclosing actionable genetic results to research participants and transitioning them to clinical care. The team returned results to 256 participants, 76.3 percent … Continued
“Medical researchers in Boston are helping sign up one million volunteers for a first-of-its-kind study [The All of Us Research Program] examining the link between genes and our health. Researchers are actively recruiting volunteers of different races and ethnicities to ensure that the study reflects the diversity of the United States.”
Genomic testing for Baby Cora, a participant of The BabySeq Project, revealed a disorder that might otherwise have gone undetected through traditional newborn screening. “Cora’s case illustrates the promise of sequencing the entire genomes of newborns: uncovering a bounty of genetic information that could identify infants needing treatment and improve health later in life…Genomics England … Continued
“Should people who volunteer for genomic studies be told about unrelated disease mutations that turn up in their sequence data?”
Our G2P research team continues to be extraordinarily productive, publishing 21 scientific papers so far this year. This summer newsletter highlights a few of these papers, as well as G2P media features, blog posts, and policy recommendations.
Joint project between Ariadne Labs and Genomes2People to create implementation pathways, tools and guides that work across various clinical contexts.
“In 2019, [G2V’s] Morgan Danowski graduated and joined Boston VA. There, she supports VA’s Million Veteran Program (MVP), now the world’s largest genomics research program. The program takes DNA from participating Veterans and information on their health, lifestyle and military experiences and exposures to better understand disease in Veteran populations. With over 830,000 Veterans enrolled, … Continued
Over the past few months, G2P faculty have attended numerous virtual conferences, been featured in the news and media, and contributed to studies involving the role of genetics in COVID-19. Many of our presentations are transitioning to a virtual format and shared on YouTube for all to view; make sure to check out our presentations … Continued
“I would have never known that I was at risk if i hadn’t donated to the Biobank,” said Kristine Trudeau who knowingly enrolled in the Partners HealthCare Biobank because she wanted to help advance medicine and potentially save lives. She did not expect that it would save her own.
Kristine Trudeau agreed to donate a sample of blood to the Partners HealthCare Biobank, a resource for researchers across the Partners hospital network — including the Brigham and Massachusetts General. By analyzing large numbers of blood samples, scientists can learn how genes contribute to disease. Trudeau shares her experiences as being one the many participants … Continued
Continuous new discoveries about the genome make updates important.
Under the four-year collaboration, experts in genomic medicine from Harvard and Brigham and Women’s will help guide Sanford researchers in using and interpreting data collected through the Sanford Chip, a $49 pharmacogenomic test to identify genetic risk factors for medication use and more accurately prescribe medications.
Spring saw accomplishments by team members through numerous projects. G2P officially kicked-off the PeopleSeq consortium in Boston this January! Our very own, Carrie Blout, MS, CGC, was one of 86 Partner’s individuals awarded the Partners In Excellence Award.
Harry Glorikian guest this week, Dr. Robert Green, is a professor of medicine and genetics at Harvard Medical School and director of the Genomes To People research program at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. They dig into the individual genome, how genomic data is being used, and the impact … Continued
This Fall, G2P has had exciting updates with a new PeopleSeq grant. Our team has traveled from San Diego, Atlanta, and Fort Detrick to Basel, Zurich, and Barcelona, to several conferences, presenting new data from our translational genomics research projects.
More information on newborn and adult sequencing studies unveiled at the 2018 American Society for Human Genetics Meeting in San Diego, CA. Two projects in which healthy individuals have had their genomes sequenced have revealed that searching for unanticipated genetic results in newborns and adults can unearth far more variants associated with diseases than previously thought, … Continued
“All of the crimes that are currently unsolved, which have DNA evidence, there’s now a pathway to trying to locate these perpetrators,” says Dr. Robert Green, a medical geneticist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Robert C. Green speaks at the 2018 Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) Precision Health Conference in San Diego, California about our efforts to gather empirical data on genome sequencing healthy individuals. Watch to learn more about G2P’s MilSeq, BabySeq, MedSeq, PeopleSeq, PGen and REVEAL projects. Click here for more on the conference.
Ancestry tests have “blown up family secrets all over the country”, but is it really helping people for the better to know this information? Read about Dr. Robert Green’s opinions on genomic testing revealing unsuspected familial matters.