Genomic medicine and gene function implementation for an underserved population

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PROJECT SUMMARY This is a Diversity supplement for a qualified medical student to join this NHGRI funded project. This project advances the goal of NHGRI to implement genomic medicine and focuses on individuals who have not been able to afford DNA testing. The research takes place in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. Our team of clinicians, geneticists, computer scientists, genomicists and model organism researchers has had long term success with the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) Model Organisms Screening Center (MOSC). This has included successfully identifying a number of new disease genes such as EBF3, IRF2BPL, NACC1, TBX2, and ATP5F1D. We propose to recruit 100 individuals from an underserved population in Houston Texas with suspected rare disease and without the means to pay for DNA sequencing through insurance. We will provide whole-exome sequencing which will generate a CAP/CLIA report that we anticipate could diagnose 35-40 individuals per year. The remaining individuals will then be converted to a family-based trio exome design. All the sequencing costs of this project will be covered by philanthrophic donation to our hospital and are not budgeted to the grant. We will make every effort to diagnose the remaining 60 individuals per year through machine learning and informatics using the MARRVEL platform, Drosophila functional studies of candidate genes and through ongoing 6 month, 12 month and 2 year follow-up with the patients where we will use matchmaking efforts such as GeneMatcher and Matchmaker exchange as well as our own genomic databases from the UDN and other studies to come to a genetic diagnosis. Regardless all subjects will receive genetic counseling from a trained team and will provide us with valuable medical, psychological and social data to guide how genomic implementation in an underserved population is perceived, impacts care and impacts the family. This work will not only produce novel insights into rare disease, diagnosis for undiagnosed families and an expanded role for genomics, it will guide us in the future to provide genomics and functional research to serve all individuals regardless of their ability to pay. The student will be involved in all aspects of this project from patient recruitment, exome re-analysis, interaction with fly lab aspect and return of results to the family.