Wake Forest University School of Medicine has received more than $3.6 million to collaborate with the Medical University of South Carolina on research exploring how genomic screening in primary care can identify patients at increased risk for certain inherited conditions
Unlike genetics, which looks how a person’s genes and specific traits are inherited, genomic screenings look at a person’s complete, entire set of genetic material
Genomic screening aims to find health risks before a patient gets sick. It can screen for health risks like hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol and other genetic conditions. It can also screen for Lynch syndrome, which can make someone more likely to develop certain types of cancers, including colon and endometrial
By identifying genetic risks before symptoms appear, population genomic screening can help people take preventive action earlier, leading to earlier diagnoses, more effective treatment, and better long-term health outcomes
The research efforts happening at rural primary care clinics in South Carolina are part of a larger program known as Population Genomics Screening Network
Key Goals of the Grant:
- While several genomic population-based screenings are already happening across the country, they are being done differently. This project seeks to find the most effective ways to incorporate genomic screenings into routine health care settings, like primary care appointments.
- Over a five-year period, researchers will enroll 5,000 study participants and screen them for the same genetic conditions.
- Researchers will also examine how participants identified as being at increased risk are connected with appropriate follow-up care.
Caitlin Gloeckner Allen, Ph.D., an associate professor of implementation sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, is the study’s principal investigator. Vanessa Astrud Diaz, M.D., and Daniel P. Judge, M.D., both of Medical University of South Carolina, are multiple principal investigators
“Primary care offers an important opportunity to identify inherited health risks before serious illness develops, Allen said. “This study will help us understand how to better integrate genomic screening into routine healthcare and ensure patients who are found to be at increased risk are connected with the follow-up care they need. I am proud of the opportunity we have to bring this study to rural communities.”
Allen is a co-chair of the steering committee for the Population Genomics Screening Network
The project reflects Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s broader commitment to improving access to evidence-based care for rural and underserved communities
Wake Forest University School of Medicine joins other institutions participating, including VA Connecticut Health Care, University of Washington, ICAHN School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Illinois Chicago, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and University of Alabama. Each of these clinical sites will also aim to enroll 5,000 patients in the study over the same five-year period, for a total of 30,000 patients
This grant is awarded by the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health, Award Number U01HG014598
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About Wake Forest University School of Medicine Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the academic core of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health and a recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research. It directs the education of nearly 1,900 students and fellows, including physicians, basic scientists and allied clinical professionals. The school of medicine also strategically investigates opportunities that will expand basic and clinical research, resulting in nationally and internationally recognized excellence in biomedical research. The school has two campuses, each co-located with leading-edge innovation districts, The Pearl, in Charlotte, and Innovation Quarter, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. These affiliated life-sciences innovation districts focus on advancing health care through new medical technologies and biomedical discovery.
About Advocate Health
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina,Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States. A preeminent academic health system at the forefront of clinical excellence, innovation and research, it delivers care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Nationally recognized for expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, Advocate Health is also a pioneer in the delivery of virtual health care. It is accelerating discovery by making research participation part of the standard-of-care through its one-of-a-kind National Center for Clinical Trials, plus two affiliated life-sciences-focused innovation districts and one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs. With more than 165,000 teammates serving patients at 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations across eight states, Advocate Health reinvests over $6 billion each year to improve community health, making it one of the nation’s largest providers of community benefit.
