DNA Today: A Genetics Podcast

Last chance to nominate DNA Today in the Podcast Awards for the best Science and Medicine. Please take a few minutes to support the show! This episode kicks off our Direct-To-Consumer (DTCs) Genetic Testing Series! Check out our previous episodes about DTCs including episode 116, 105, 91, 80, and 56. Over this brand new series, we are going to be interviewing a whole bunch of experts including authors Adam Rutherford and Libby Copeland about their new books exploring DTCs and we get to hear directly from companies like Fulgent Genetics, JScreen, and 23andMe. So much more to come over the next few months! This series is sponsored by Picture Genetics, who is now offering FDA-authorized COVID-19 test kits. And you don’t have to leave the house, the kits are shipped directly to your home. Ordering takes only a few minutes at picturegenetics.com. Use code “DNATODAY” for 25% and free shipping on all other kits! To start off this series, we are joined by Jeanette McCarthy, MPH, PhD, who is a UC Berkeley trained genetic epidemiologist with current faculty positions at UCSF and Duke. Her interests are in educating stakeholders in the area of precision medicine, including healthcare providers and consumers. In 2014, Dr. McCarthy helped launch the first consumer-facing magazine in this field, Genome, where she served as the founding Editor-in-Chief. Dr. McCarthy is also the founder of Precision Medicine Advisors, where she develops and delivers workshops and online courses related to genetic testing. On This Episode We Discuss: Top companies in the DTC genetic testing industry Differences between patient initiated, physician initiated, and/or medical/clinical grade Lesser known areas of testing including pharmacogenomics Role of FDA regulation Learn more from Dr. Jeanette McCarthy on PrecisionMedicineAdvisors.com. Check out this blog post we mentioned during the episode where Dr. McCarthy explains how the genetic testing industry has developed and some of the recent industry trends and factors impacting its growth. Join host Kira Dineen live on Zoom in the Phenotips Speakers Series on July 27th 12pmET! Kira will be hosting the first installment by interviewing Advanced Tele-Genetic Counseling’s Founder Elizabeth Turner about “Adapting to Virtual Care in Genetic Counseling”. Register for free here. Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today’s DTC series on August 7th with Dr. Adam Rutherford where we discuss his book How To Argue With A Racist: What Our Genes Do (And Don’t) Say About Human Difference. New episodes are released on the first and third Friday of the month. In the meantime, you can binge 125 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”. See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNApodcast.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

Answering your listener submitted questions about the American genetic counseling board exam is the ABGC President, Adam Buchanan, MS, MPH, CGC! Aside from this role at American Board of Genetic Counseling, Adam is an associate professor, genetic counselor and Director of the Geisinger Genomic Medicine Institute. Previously, he was a research associate at Duke Cancer Institute. His clinical expertise includes intimate knowledge of recommended risk management for hereditary cancer syndromes. He is co-leading Geisinger’s MyCode genomic screening program for medically actionable genomic results, and is helping to develop a health services research portfolio on patient-participant, family, and system outcomes of this program. This episode is sponsored by PhenoTips. If you are still drawing pedigrees by hand, you are overdue for an upgrade! PhenoTips provides a free digital pedigree drawing tool. Not only is it intuitive and easy-to-use, it’s 2.5 times faster than your pen and paper. And we all know time is very valuable in the clinic. Give it a try at phenotips.com/signup. On This Episode We Discuss: Timeframe for the boards Structure of the exam Study resources Content on the exam Strategy to approach questions Percentage passing rate (Is there one?) Results and CGC status Accommodating for COVID-19 (Possible Remote Test Taking) Inclusivity boards price and questions Update: As teased by Adam in this episode, ABGC officially announce the boards exam is also being offered with remote proctoring in August 2020. Read more on their website here. Learn more on ABGC’s website, here is the content outline that was referred to throughout this interview. Here is the practice exam for purchase ($55) to access your strengths and weaknesses. Here is a page to learn more about the scoring of the exam and here is a page to see specific passing rates over the last few years. During the interview we also reference #ABGCListens tweetchat, which you can read here on Twitter. For other genetic counseling conversation read and participate in #gcchat on Twitter. You can also follow Adam directly on Twitter. Next episode of DNA Today is launching the brand new Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing series on July 17th! This series will be sponsored by Fulgent Genetics. New episodes are released on the first and third Friday of the month with some bonus episodes thrown in there. In the meantime, you can listen to over 125 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or streaming on the website including the previous series about infertility. See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and iTunes. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

Podcast Award Nominations begin July 1st, 2020! Please help DNA Today receive a fourth nomination (and hopefully a win this year!) by visiting PodcastAwards.com and selecting “DNA Today” in the Science and Medicine category. We can only receive a nomination if YOU nominate the show! This episode concludes DNA Today’s 7 part infertility series. The first episode kicked off with Lauren Isley who shared about fertility genetic counseling. The next two episodes featured a couple who went through reciprocal IVF to have their daughters (part 1 and 2). Filmmakers of fertility movie ANYA joined the show next. Dr. Kara Goldman followed discussing diagnostic fertility testing. Last episode, Genetic Counselor Jennifer Eccles explained the science behind PGT for polygenic conditions. This seventh and final infertility installment explores controversies surrounding fertility with genetic counselor and genetics podcast host, Nick Charles. He is the lead laboratory and quality control counselor at CooperSurgical, a preimplantation genetic testing lab. Prior to working in a laboratory position, he was a prenatal and reproductive genetic counselor at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, counseling patients with high-risk pregnancies and/or fertility issues in the Maternal Fetal Medicine practice. He earned his bachelor’s degree in pre-med biology from the University of Scranton and his master’s in human genetics and genetic counseling from Sarah Lawrence College. This episode is also one of our crossovers with another genetics podcast. So be sure to hear the other half of our conversation on Nick’s show, Gene Therapy Podcast. Roles are flipped on his show where Nick interviews Kira about how to utilize social media to learn about genetic counseling, and to network and build a career. Sponsoring this episode is Advanced Tele-Genetic Counseling (AT-GC) which provides virtual appointments to meet with a certified genetic counselor. These one-on-one conversations can help you understand how your own genetics may play a role in your health including fertility. Access to healthcare should not be dependent on where you live, which is why ATGC was founded! You can schedule your telehealth appointment directly on their website. On This Episode We Discuss: Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) Appropriate situations and where the line begins to blur Medical guidelines and recommendations Mosaic Embryos: Potential health concerns Regulations around implantation Situations to select and implant Success rate of pregnancies Current and future research Don’t forget to hear the other half of our conversation on Nick’s show, Gene Therapy Podcast. Just search Gene Therapy podcast in our podcast player or listen on his website. Keep up with the show by following on Twitter and Instagram. Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today. New episodes are released on the first and third Friday of the month (with some bonus episodes thrown in there like this one)! In the meantime, you can listen to 125 episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or streaming on the website. See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and iTunes. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

This episode continues DNA Today’s series about infertility. Over the last five episodes of DNA Today, we talked with experts in fertility. On the first episode we heard from Lauren Isley, a genetic counselor about artificial reproductive technologies and the genetic counseling side. We also had the Baileys on the show to share their reciprocal IVF journey in part 1 and part 2. The following episode the filmmakers of ANYA, a science fiction film about fertility. Last episode, Dr. Kara Goldman shared her experience in diagnostic fertility testing. Sponsoring the series is LetsGetChecked, check out their home testing kits including fertility, sexual health and others. Receive your own kit for 20% off by using code “DNAToday”. Jennifer Eccles joins the show to discuss PGT-P, preimplantation genetic testing for polygenic conditions. She is the Head of Genetic Counseling at Genomic Prediction Clinical Laboratory. Jennifer has over 20 years of experience in reproductive clinical genetics at institutions like Columbia, Beth Israel Medical Center, and BioReference Laboratories. As a licensed and certified genetic counselor, Jennifer has spent her career discussing genetic testing with individuals and couples at various stages along the path to parenthood. In her current role, Jennifer provides genetic counseling services along with authoring clinical and marketing content. Jennifer's publication history is focused on the patient-facing aspect of genetics and clinical testing. She is also a fellow graduate of Sarah Lawrence’s Human Genetics program. On This Episode We Discuss: Types of PGT PGT-P for Polygenic Conditions Screening vs Diagnostic Testing List of Polygenic Conditions Screened Polygenic Risk Scores PGT-P Steps Cost and Insurance Genetic Counseling Learn more about Genomic Prediction and their PGT-P on their website genomicprediction.com and follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Stay tuned for the next and final episode of the DNA Today Infertility series! New episodes are released on the first and third Friday of the month. In the meantime, you can binge 123 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”. See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNApodcast.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

DNA Today stands in solidarity with BLM and in doing so we wanted to share a few resources with you listeners where you can educate yourself by listening to Black voices in our genetics community. You can support BLM through donations to ActBlue here. Dr. Janina Jeff was a guest back on episode 117 where she shared her new podcast, “In Those Genes”, that uses genetics to uncover the lost identities of african descended americans through the lens of black culture. Please, listen and support her show along with other black podcasts like American Origin Stories, She Too STEM, PhDivas among many others. We also wanted to bring awareness to the Minority Genetic Professionals Network. This group supports minority medical genetic providers and trainees to increase the diversity in our profession and to serve minority communities. MGP also provides resources on how to support non-white patients and co-workers. You can also follow them on Twitter and Instagram. Learn more through Twitter accounts like @DecolonizeDNA and @BlackAFinSTEM, articles in AJMG and AACC. This episode continues DNA Today’s series about infertility. Over the last four episodes of DNA Today, we talked with experts in fertility. On the first episode we heard from Lauren Isley, a genetic counselor about artificial reproductive technologies and the genetic counseling side. We also had the Baileys on the show to share their reciprocal IVF journey in part 1 and part 2. The following episode the filmmakers of ANYA, a science fiction film about fertility. Sponsoring the series is LetsGetChecked, check out their home testing kits including fertility, sexual health and others. Receive your own kit for 20% off by using code “DNAToday”. This episode Dr. Kara Goldman shares her experience in diagnostic fertility testing. She is the Medical Director of Fertility Preservation at Northwestern Fertility Reproductive Medicine. Dr. Goldman received her MD from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, completed OB/GYN residency at Northwestern University, and trained in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at New York University where she went on to join the faculty. On This Episode We Discuss: When to pursue fertility testing Which tests are the first ordered Hormones that are measured and importance of timing Common causes of infertility Fertility implications of balanced translocation carriers Fertility preservation You can stay updated with Dr. Goldman on her Twitter account, @karagoldmanmd. Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on June 19th! New episodes are released on the first and third Friday of every month. In the meantime, you can listen to over 100 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or streaming on the website. See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and iTunes. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

This episode continues DNA Today’s series about infertility. Over the last few episodes of DNA Today, we talked with experts in fertility. On the first episode we heard from Lauren Isley, a genetic counselor about artificial reproductive technologies and the genetic counseling side. We also had the Baileys on the show to share their reciprocal IVF journey in part 1 and part 2. Sponsoring the series is LetsGetChecked, check out their home testing kits including fertility, sexual health and others. Receive your own kit for 20% off by using code “DNAToday”. It’s been so interesting to hear different perspectives about fertility as it impacts so many people’s lives. Currently 7.3 million Americans are facing infertility! I hope you all have learned a lot alongside us. Be sure to go back and listen to all the fertility episodes if you are interested! On this next installment of the fertility series two guests join the show, documentarian Jacob Okada and anthropologist Carylanna Taylor, PhD who wrote and produced ANYA, a fictional film about fertility. Through their company, First Encounter Productions, Carylanna and Jacob are committed to creating complex characters and compelling stories informed by anthropology, science, and current events. ANYA has had international screenings and was featured as a "Science and Diversity in Film" on Forbes. On This Episode We Discuss: ANYA Film Synopsis Inspiration for ANYA Keeping up with Genetic Technology and News Scientifically Accurate Script Writing Proper Lab Equipment Features Featured Genetic Technology PCR, Sequencing, UCSC Genome Browser, CRISPR Inclusivity in Science Fiction Films Forbes had a fantastic feature of ANYA exploring the diversity in the film. Dr. Ruth McCole, who was a scientist on the set, wrote up her experience here. Rotten Tomatoes gives ANYA a 93%. To explore more about First Encounter Productions you can visit their website. For more information about ANYA and to watch it go to anyamovie.com. Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today. New episodes are released on the first and third Friday of the month. See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify and Apple/iTunes. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

This episode is part of DNA Today’s ongoing infertility series. The series was launched hearing from Genetic Counselor Lauren Isley, she shared about artificial reproductive technologies and infertility genetic counseling. Sponsoring the series is LetsGetChecked, check out their home testing kits including fertility, sexual health and others. Receive your own kit for 20% off by using code “DNAToday”. Last episode we heard from Katie and Christina Bailey. They were sharing their journey to parenthood through reciprocal In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). We continue this conversation on this episode, so if you haven’t heard the first part of our discussion, you are going to want to listen to the previous episode where Christina and Katie Bailey talk about the beginning of their story with IVF. The Baileys have a large following of nearly 100,000 on Instagram, so you can check them out @BabyBaileyMamaDrama. On This Episode We Discuss: Conceiving a Second Time Genetic Testing During Pregnancy Talking to Kids About Their Conception Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Finding Biological Relatives Decision to Make Family’s Story Public Cost of IVF Future Kids and Names Advice for People Going Through Fertility Treatments If you are interested in more details about the cost, the Baileys provided a breakdown here. The Bailey’s story was also summed up here. Join nearly 100,000 others in following them on Instagram and Youtube both at @BabyBaileyMamaDrama. You can also check out their blog, babybaileymamadrama.wordpress.com. DNA Today’s infertility series continues on the next episode! New episodes are released on the first Friday of the month with some bonus episode thrown in there. See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and iTunes. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

This episode continues the DNA Today’s series about infertility. If you haven’t yet heard the episode with Genetic Counselor Lauren Isley, I highly recommend you go back and listen to learn more about the artificial reproductive technologies and the genetic counseling side. It’s a great preview into this episode. Sponsoring the series is LetsGetChecked, check out their home testing kits including fertility, sexual health and others. Receive your own kit for 20% off by using code “DNAToday”. Currently 7.3 million Americans are facing infertility, and this series is bringing awareness to infertility along with teaching the science and genetic side. On this episode, we are going to hear personal perspectives. Joining me are Katie and Christina Bailey. They share their journey to parenthood through reciprocal In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Christina and Katie have a large following of nearly 100,000 on Instagram, so you can check them out @BabyBaileyMamaDrama. This is part 1 of our conversation, for part 2, you will have to tune into the next episode to hear where the Bailey are today. On This Episode We Discuss: Deciding on Path to Parenthood Educating Friends and Family Choosing a Sperm Donor Hormones for IVF Techniques to Fertilize Eggs Considering Embryo Adoption To hear about the rest of the Bailey’s IVF journey you will have to tune into the next episode of DNA Today! In the meantime, join nearly 100,000 others in following them on Instagram and Youtube both at @BabyBaileyMamaDrama. You can also check out their blog, babybaileymamadrama.wordpress.com. Don’t forget to hear the rest our our conversation in the next episode of DNA Today! New episodes are released on the first Friday of the month with some bonus episode thrown in there. See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and iTunes. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

This episode is kicking off a series about infertility. The launch of this series is coinciding with infertility awareness week, April 19-25th, 2020. Over the next few episodes of DNA Today, we will be talking to experts in fertility these include genetic counselors, a couple who went through IVF, even filmmakers who produced a science fiction movie about fertility. Sponsoring the series is LetsGetChecked, check out their home testing kits including fertility, sexual health and others. Receive your own kit for 20% off by using code “DNAToday”. Currently 7.3 million Americans are facing infertility, and we wanted to bring awareness to this, but also education by having these conversations to learn about the science and genetic side, but also the patient side and hearing how infertility has impacted people’s lives and hearing their perspective. So many excited guests coming up! The first guest to launch this series is Lauren Isley, who is a genetic counselor that specializes in fertility and assisted reproductive technologies, known as ART for short. She is a Clinical Science Liaison at Generate Life Sciences (Formerly California Cryobank Life Sciences), a company that provides reproductive tissue and donor gamete services as well as newborn stem cell storage. Lauren is the Chair Elect of the Genetic Counseling Professional Group of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and former chair of the ART/Infertility SIG of NSGC. Lauren has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the University of Missouri. She went on to earn her Masters of Science in genetic counseling from Wayne State University. On This Episode We Discuss: Roles of a Genetic Counselor in Fertility Fertility Technology Options Carrier Screening In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Types of Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT M, SR, A) Information and Limits of PGTs Egg and Sperm Freezing/Donating Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) genetic testing impact on gamete donation Next episode we will be continuing this infertility series. Again infertility awareness week is April 19-25th, 2020. You can learn more by going to RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. They are a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people challenged in their family building journey reach resolution through being empowered by knowledge, supported by community, united by advocacy, and inspired to act. Their website is resolve.org. You can also check out this blog post from the National Society of Genetic Counselors, “How Genetics Affects Infertility and Miscarriage”. Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today’s infertility series on April 17th, 2020. New episodes are released on the first Friday of the month with some bonus episodes thrown in there. See what else I am up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and iTunes. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

Zaki Sabet joins the show to discuss issues in the diagnostic process of hematologic cancers. Zaki has been with Precipio since co-founding the company in 2011 and currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer. He holds over 15 years of experience in laboratory management spanning all fields of reference laboratory operations primarily focusing on cancer diagnostics, which is the focus of our conversation on this episode. Prior to Precipio, Zaki has served as a consultant with the College of American Pathologists (CAP) for many years as well as several diagnostic companies in setting up their specialized cancer testing operations. Zaki holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. On This Episode We Discuss: Background on Hematologic Cancers including Subtypes Frequency of Hematologic Cancers Prevalence of Misdiagnosis Diagnostic Odyssey for Patients Misdiagnosis Impact on Treatment and Disease Course Impact of Physician’s Clinical Suspicions on Lab Tests Ordered Current Lab Tests to Diagnose Precipio’s Solution to Reducing Misdiagnosis with IV-Cell Learn more about Precipio on their website. You can also follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Check out Picture Genetics, a clinical grade DNA testing service where physicians and genetic counselors are involved. These tests are designed for every stage of life, from family planning and newborn health, to personal wellness and disease risk. The test sequences entire genes that are medically actionable. It’s easy to order and understand with good looking reports, live chats, emails and even genetic counseling. To order your Picture Genetics go to PictureGenetics.com use code “DNATODAY” for 25% off and free-shipping! Stay tuned for the next episode of DNA Today on April 6th, 2020 which kicks off the fertility series! New episodes are released on the first Friday of the month with some bonus episodes thrown in there. In the meantime, you can listen to over 100 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or streaming on the website. See what else I am up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and iTunes. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.