DNA Today: A Genetics Podcast

With Father’s Day coming up this Sunday, it’s only fitting that this week’s guest is famous for coining the phrase, “You are (or are not) the father!” We sat down with the one and only Maury Povich live in NBC’s Stamford Studios (where Maury has his own show on the network) for a discussion about paternity testing!   Maury is a household name and an icon in the world of talk shows. For over 30 yea...

Joining us for this episode is Sneha Dave , Founder and Executive Director of Generation Patient , an organization that facilitates events, online programs, and advocacy initiatives for young adults living with chronic and rare conditions to ensure that they have the opportunities and resources to thrive.   Sneha Dave (she/her) graduated from Indiana University in May 2020 where she majored in chr...

We are joined again by Janice Berliner joining us again on DNA Today. She was a guest on Episode 152 where we talked about her debut novel, Brooke’s Promise. In this episode we are chatting about her second novel, In Good Conscience, which features genetic counseling!   Aside from being a novelist, Janice Berliner is a board certified genetic counselor with more than 32 years of experience. In her...

We want to take a moment to express our appreciation to all our incredible listeners. We have been enjoying getting to know some of you through our Patreon . As a patron you can gain benefits that take your DNA Today experience to the next level including our exclusive monthly club, behind the scenes podcast views, input on future episodes including interview questions, one on one mentorship with...

We are in the final days to sign up to our Patreon to still be eligible for our bonus physical gift , DNA Today merch! This is on top of the annual physical gift you will get if you end up picking our Chromies tier level. And yes I had a ton of fun coming up with the tier names. The top merch asked for by listeners are t-shirts, mugs, stickers, thermoses, and lanyards (mostly to wear during confer...

If you are listening to a genetics podcast, then I know you are a nerd that also likes reading genetic books and watching genetics movies and shows. There aren’t many genetics clubs out there for nerds like us, so we launched a Patreon where we could do just that! This is the benefit that was asked for the most when we were designing our Patreon was an exclusive monthly club where we chat about a...

If you are one of the listeners that tune into DNA Today every week, then you definitely know by now we have launched our Patreon. This is where you can not only get bonus content from DNA Today, you can get early access to episodes before the public. You also get to influence the content of the show, this includes episode topics and guests plus pitching questions I ask during interviews, and of c...

Congratulations to everyone who matched with a genetic counseling program last week! Special shoutout to our Communications Lead, Corinne Merlino, for matching with the University of Pennsylvania! Check out DNA Today Episode #101, Genetic Counseling Match Day , to prepare you to start grad school. We also provide advice for applicants that didn’t match in this cycle and offer inspiration to apply...

We are officially launching our Patreon next week on DNA Day, April 25th! To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA and 20th anniversary of the completion of the human genome. By becoming a Patreon supporter you can receive benefits like joining our exclusive genetics book/movie club, mentorship sessions with me, even being on an episode of DNA Today! If you sign u...

We are thrilled to be launching our Patreon very soon. It might be on a genetics holiday, I’ll let you figure that one out. In the meantime we would appreciate your insight on what you want from the Patreon. It’s your last chance to fill out our survey so that we will offer the benefits you want. You can access the 60 second survey here . Maybe you really want DNA Today merch or would love to have...

Have you heard? We are launching a Patreon! For those that are not familiar with Patreon, it’s a platform that allows creators (like podcasters) to offer their followers more content, experiences, and even gifts. We have an exciting list of ideas on what we will offer you listeners, but we want you to make the final decisions on which benefits we end up offering you. So get your votes in through o...

As you may have heard, we are launching a Patreon! For those that don’t know what Patreon is, it’s a platform that allows creators (like podcasters) to offer their followers more content, experiences, and even gifts. We have a survey that will be open for a limited time so get your input in now so we can provide the benefits you want. Maybe that’s a one-on-one Zoom with me for mentorship or a gene...

We have an exciting announcement, we are launching a Patreon! For those that are not familiar with Patreon, it’s a platform that allows creators (like podcasters) to offer their followers more content, experiences, and even gifts. In order to provide what YOU want, please take 60 seconds to fill out our survey . By filling out the survey not only are you influencing what benefits we will offer, bu...

Update: One of our recurrent guests genetic counselor and fellow podcaster Laura Hercher had a couple important thoughts after listening to our episode we want to share. Laura has been a guest on Episodes 157 & 191 where she has shared her insight on abortion bans including Texas SB 8 and the overturn of Roe v. Wade. “I understand the reasons for moving our language away from terms like ‘lethal’ o...

In this episode, we are exploring limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD). Joining us for this conversation are two experts, Dr. Louise Rodino-Klapac, and genetic counselor Livija Medne. Dr. Louise Rodino-Klapac is the Executive Vice President, Head of R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at Sarepta Therapeutics who has 15 years of experience researching and studying LGMD. She is renowned for her work i...

Can rapid whole genome sequencing (WGS) be utilized in the NICU setting? We explore in this podcast episode! Joining us for this episode is Dr. Hong Li , a clinical geneticist at Emory University. Our other expert is a recurring guest, world-renowned geneticist Dr. Madhuri Hegde . She serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Global Lab Services at PerkinElmer Genomics ,...

Last episode we learned about non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for recessive conditions through BillionToOne’s UNITY Screen . Jen Hoskovec , Senior Director of Medical Affairs at BillionToOne , is back for this episode where we are exploring NIPT for fetal antigen. Jen is BillionToOne’s Senior Director of Medical Affairs. Jennifer Hoskovec , MS, CGC, joined BillionToOne as the Senior Director...

In this episode we are learning about UNITY Screen non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for recessive conditions. Joining our host Kira Dineen are two experts from BillionToOne , the CEO Oguzhan Atay and the Senior Director of Medical Affairs, Jen Hoskovec . Stay tuned for our part two about their new fetal antigen NIPT! Oguzhan Atay , PhD, BillionToOne co-founder, has led the company since its in...

Happy Rare Disease Month! With over 10,000 rare diseases , reaching a diagnosis is a long and arduous process for the 300 million people affected by a rare disease worldwide. Advancements in technology, bioinformatics, and improved collaboration hold the promise to end or reduce this diagnostic odyssey; however, valuable diagnostic data still remains siloed and fragmented within healthcare systems...

We are kicking off Rare Disease Month by talking about Wilson’s disease , a rare, inherited disorder that causes copper to accumulate in the liver, brain, and other vital organs. It is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern and left untreated, Wilson’s disease can be fatal. Joining us for this episode is Naseem Amin, the CEO of Orphalan , which develops and commercializes treatments for orpha...

In this episode we are chatting about the genetic counseling field in South Africa! Joining us for this discussion are two guests from the University of Cape Town (UTC), current student, Samantha Bayley, and UCT-professor, Tina-Marié Wessels. Special thanks to our social media intern, Kajal Patel, for recommending Samantha and Tina for this episode! Samantha Bayley is currently a second-year stude...

This week we’re discussing all things microfluidics! Joining us for this discussion is Franz Pruefer. He is the Co-Founder of Maxwerk Bio which has a pipeline of biotech diagnostic and therapeutic devices. Franz is also the Co-Founder of CERTESS Therapeutics an early stage Cell Therapy Company in stealth mode based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Under the pharmaceutical division, Maxwerk supplies in...

A new year means a new podcast! We are thrilled to announce that our host, Kira Dineen, is a co-producer of a new rare disease and medical challenges podcast called, It Happened To Me . In celebration of the launch we wanted to share an upcoming episode of the podcast where the hosts Cathy Gildenhorn and Beth Glassman interviewed Kira Dineen. There will also be another episode on the show where th...

Happy New Year! Joining us for the first episode of 2023 is Betsy Humphreys, Karen Volle and Karina Mancini, who will share their experience with the New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) and the New England Regional Genetics Network programs, and how they relate to genetics advocacy. Elizabeth Humphreys is the Director of the Leadership Education in Neuro...

Patient advocate, Mike Graglia, and genetic counselor, Elli Brimble, join DNA Today for a conversation about SYNGAP1-related non-syndromic intellectual disability, a rare genetic disorder caused by a variant on the SYNGAP1 gene. Mike Graglia has always worked on complicated problems – he can’t help himself. So when his son was diagnosed with SYNGAP1 in 2018, he founded the SynGAP Research Fund and...