Trainee Newsletter

Policy and Advocacy Activities at ASHG 2018 November 2018  One of the many opportunities afforded by this year’s ASHG Annual Meeting in San Diego was the chance to highlight important policy issues affecting genetics, as well as learn more about the Society’s efforts in policy and advocacy. I attended two sessions at this year’s meeting... Read More

Written by Nascent Transcript writer Brooke Wolford November 2018  What scientific themes did you identify at the ASHG 2018 Annual Meeting? You may remember several themes, including the need for genetics research in diverse populations, the power of large cohorts like the UK Biobank, and the applications of polygenic risk scores (PRS). A PRS, sometimes... Read More

Written by Nascent Transcript writer Sandra Smieszek August 2018  Longevity–an individual’s lifespan under ideal conditions–and healthy aging are among the most complex phenotypes studied to date. Human lifespan varies greatly, with life expectancy ranging from 47.5 in Sierra Leone to 79.8 in the United States and 87.2 years in Monaco. Currently, the world is home... Read More

Written by Nascent Transcript writer Allison McCague August 2018 May 21 of this year marked the tenth anniversary of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), a landmark piece of legislation that Senator Ted Kennedy—one of the sponsors of the bill—called “the first civil rights bill of the new century of the life sciences.” GINA’s passage was the... Read More

Nascent Transcript Writer: Allison McCague May 2018  The second annual March for Science was held last month in Washington, DC, and many cities all around the world. The inaugural March for Science, held on a cold, rainy, and damp day, drew approximately 100,000 marchers to Washington in 2017, and over one million people participated in some sort... Read More