Drs. Yvonne Bombard, Harriet Etheredge, Lilian Downie, Jonathan Berg, and Anna Lewis gather for a debate and panel discussion regarding the intricacies of whether genomic newborn screening programs should plan to reuse the clinical data they gather in their research investigations.
Building on G2P’s evidence base from the BabySeq and BRIDGES projects, Dr. Robert C. Green opened the 5th Annual International Consortium on Newborn Sequencing (ICoNS) meeting with a keynote charting the roadmap for translating preventative genomic screening into safe, population-level clinical and public health realities all across the world.
Oregon is the first of now eight states and territories preparing to enroll newborns in BRIDGES-NBS, with in-person recruitment at PeaceHealth-Eugene and OHSU and statewide self-enrollment open to families. The state’s newborn screening program sees genome sequencing as a way to expand screening from 46 conditions to more than 700!
Dr. Robert C. Green delivers the Plenary at the 14th Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) conference, hosted in Singapore from Sept 28 to Oct 2, 2026. “Making genomic newborn screening a clinical reality” draws on his pioneering initiatives, including the BabySeq Project, BRIDGES-NBS, and the International Consortium on Newborn Sequencing (ICoNS), breaking down … Continued
Would you want to know if your newborn carried a risk of serious illness years before symptoms began? This CNN feature puts that question at the center of the newborn-genomics debate—showing both its potential to prevent illness and the difficult choices it may create for families.
This Nature feature explores the growing momentum behind genomic newborn screening, highlighting early evidence that sequencing can identify serious, treatable conditions that traditional newborn screening may miss. It examines major initiatives around the world—including BabySeq, GUARDIAN, BabyScreen+, the UK Generation Study, and BRIDGES-NBS—while considering key questions around scalability, cost, gene selection, interpretation, and the responsible … Continued
Ariadne Labs is thrilled to announce the appointment of Dr. Jason Vassy as the new director of the Precision Population Health Program!
What’s in a name? For one of G2P’s newborn genomic screening studies, quite a bit — as Precision Medicine reports, the collaborative effort has rebranded as BRIDGES-NBS, a change designed to sharpen its identity and steer clear of confusion with unrelated products in the field.
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has launched the Population Genomic Screening Network (PGSN), a new five-year consortium bringing together leading institutions—including investigators from G2P and led by Dr. Jason Vassy, Director of G2V —to study the implementation of population genomic screening in primary care. The network will enroll more than 30,000 participants across … Continued
What if every newborn received a genome sequence alongside the traditional heel prick test? The Economist explores the rapid expansion of genomic newborn screening through England’s Generation Study, BabySeq in the United States, and similar efforts across Australia and Europe, highlighting both the potential to transform early diagnosis and the ethical challenges that accompany its … Continued
Drawing on emerging research in newborn genomic screening, including studies led by Dr. Robert Green, this Opinion piece examines both the promise and complexity of using genome sequencing in newborn care. Daniela Lamas examines questions about uncertainty, parental decision-making, and the future of genomic newborn screening as large-scale studies begin enrolling tens of thousands of … Continued
Spring is a season of new beginnings, and at Genomes2People, that spirit is reflected in the exciting work happening across our team! In this newsletter, we highlight new research advancing equitable newborn genomic sequencing, celebrate one year since Dr. Robert Green’s TED Talk on the life-saving potential of newborn DNA, and spotlight Dr. Anna Lewis’s … Continued
GLP-1 medications do not work for everyone, and genomics may hold the key to understanding why. Dr. Robert C. Green comments on a new study published in Nature that revealed two genes involved in gut and appetite suppression. Pointing to the promise of personalized medicine, he further lays out a future where genomics is incorporated … Continued
In celebration of 2026 Rare Disease Day, nearly 2,300 researchers, clinicians, patients, and advocates filled the halls of the NIH Natcher Conference Center or joined virtually to highlight the urgency and opportunity of advancing rare disease research. With more than 10,000 identified rare diseases affecting millions of Americans, speakers emphasized the need for innovative trial … Continued
As newborn genomic screening initiatives continue to unfold around the world, the ethical and responsible implementation of the approach into public health sparked vibrant discussions at the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) annual meeting last week. In addition to updates from notable newborn genomic screening studies — such as the UK’s Generation … Continued
The Brigham and Women’s Hospital Division of Genetics celebrates the G2P team as recipients of NIH funding for the launch of the BEACONS Project, a landmark initiative exploring the integration of genomic sequencing into state newborn screening programs! Note: The BEACONS-NBS study has been renamed BRIDGES-NBS.
GenomeWeb celebrates the BEACONS team’s announcement regarding the selection of 7 U.S. states and territories selected to assess the feasibility of integrating whole genome sequencing into public health newborn screening. The team also published the curated gene list, which consists of 746 genes associated with 777 genetic conditions, all clinically actionable within the first year … Continued
Ariadne Labs covers the announcement of two major milestones from the newly NIH-funded study, BEACONS. Six states and one U.S. territory have been selected to assess feasibility of integrating whole genome sequencing into public health newborn screening. The BEACONS team has also published the curated gene list, consisting of 777 genetic conditions, all actionable within … Continued
This Nature article highlights how nationwide genetic screening shows promise for early disease risk detection. Evidence from a large Australian pilot demonstrates population-wide genetic screening in young adults can successfully identify individuals at increased risk for serious heritable conditions, including hereditary cancers and high cholesterol, before symptoms arise. The findings outline the potential of early … Continued
In this NPR TED Radio Hour episode, our senior genetic counselor and project manager Bethany Zettler helps unpack how families interpret and react to genetic findings and the difficult decisions that can follow. The episode also discusses the growing use of DNA sequencing in healthy newborns to identify hidden disease risks, as Dr. Robert C. … Continued
This press release describes crucial findings from a joint study by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts General Hospital. The research team highlights systemic obstacles in primary care, lack of referral guidelines, and workforce shortages, and they call for interventions like decision-support flags in electronic health records, embedded genetic … Continued
Join us in celebrating Nina Gold and her team’s incredible work investigating the sensitivity of genomic newborn screening for treating inherited metabolic conditions. Editor-in-Chief Robert D. Steiner of Genetics in Medicine recognized this work as one of the most impactful pieces of genetics research published in 2025!
Ariadne Labs celebrates Dr. Robert Green’s TED Talk, which explores how preventive genomics could transform medicine by identifying disease risk before symptoms ever appear, even from birth. Drawing on the world’s first DNA screening of healthy newborns, he makes the case for a future of care focused on prediction and prevention, not just treatment.
This article explores the critical transition toward genomic implementation into precision health, examining the economic, clinical, and ethical frameworks required to integrate genomic data into everyday care. Featuring insights from G2P Director Dr. Robert Green and other leading experts, it challenges us to consider how we will responsibly navigate the most intimate information we possess.
In this blog post, Dr. Green reflects on his mainstage TED Talk, making the case that integrating whole-genome sequencing at birth could reveal thousands of treatable genetic risks early in life. Drawing on findings from BabySeq Project and the newly funded BEACONS Initiative, he shows how a single test at birth could give families actionable … Continued
Dr. Robert Green and Dr. Nina Gold were both featured in Mass General Brigham’s highlights in research for 2025!
APHL celebrates the launch of BEACONS, the nation’s first multi-state initiative evaluating whether whole genome sequencing (WGS) can be responsibly integrated into the U.S. newborn screening system. With a $14.4M NIH award and invaluable participation from public health labs across the country, BEACONS will test how WGS affects workflows, consent, data systems, and the actionable … Continued
In this episode, Dr. Jason Vassy explains how genomic tools are transforming Veteran health, from tailoring medications using DNA to improving prostate cancer screening. Drawing on VA-wide research efforts like MVP and the PROGRESS Study, he shows what personalized, preventive care could look like in the years ahead.
The inaugural Franca Fund Gala, held at Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art and hosted by Anna Wintour alongside Francesco Carrozzini and H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa, celebrated the legacy of Franca Sozzani while raising over $4 million to support Dr. Robert Green’s pioneering work in preventive genomics. Proceeds from the evening directly advance the Franca Fund’s … Continued
Dr. Robert Green joins the Unnatural Selection podcast to discuss the newly announced BEACONS project, which will test the feasibility of integrating whole genome sequencing into public health newborn screening programs. He shares how this initiative is moving from research to real-world practice and what it means for the future of preventive, precision medicine.
Dr. Green describes the impact of the novel, NIH-funded BEACONS study: “For more than 50 years, newborn screening has been a beacon of trust, saving children’s lives by analyzing a few drops of blood after birth. BEACONS brings the next generation of hope, giving families the option of genomic screening for hundreds of additional conditions … Continued
Funded by a $14.4 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund Venture Program, BEACONS will pilot the integration of whole genome sequencing into existing state newborn screening systems. The study will recruit, consent, and enroll up to 30,000 newborns in as many as 10 states over the next three years, a … Continued
GeneDx has launched the first multi-state national genomic newborn screening initiative, supported by a $14.4 million award from the National Institutes of Health Common Fund Venture Program. The effort, part of the BEACONS project, will enroll thousands of newborns to study how whole genome sequencing could be integrated into standard public health newborn screening systems.
Global Genes celebrates the latest NIH award of $14.4 million to launch a pioneering initiative aimed at integrating whole genome sequencing (WGS) into newborn screening programs, with the goal of improving early detection of rare and treatable conditions.
The NIH Common Fund’s Venture Program has announced the first award for the NBSxWGS (BEACONS) initiative, a multi-institutional effort to assess the feasibility of integrating whole genome sequencing into U.S. public health newborn screening programs. BEACONS brings together academic leaders, public health laboratories, sequencing partners, and community stakeholders to explore how genomic screening could identify … Continued
Dr. Robert C. Green joined Dr. Vinod Gauba on the Decoded: The Future of Health podcast to discuss his pioneering research on genomic disclosure, the urgent need to close diversity gaps, and how blind spots in today’s data infrastructure pose both the biggest challenges and the greatest opportunities for precision medicine.
What if we could identify serious health risks from the very start of life, the moment a baby is born? In this talk, Dr. Robert C. Green explains how his team became the first to comprehensively sequence and analyze the DNA of healthy newborns, uncovering hidden risks for treatable conditions. The future of medicine, he … Continued
This November in Doha, the inaugural Franca Fund Gala will support ongoing preventative genomics research in honor of filmmaker Francesco Carrozzini’s late mother, Vogue editor Franca Sozzani. Carrozzini, Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, and Vogue global editorial director Anna Wintour will host the gala, advancing genetic research led by Dr. Robert C. … Continued
What better way to lounge around, enjoying the dog days, than to catch up on G2P news? In this newsletter, G2P presents several summer reads (and a listen!), exploring the various ways genomics is shaping the future of healthcare—and what it means for all of us. Also, come join us at the 2025 Annual Meeting … Continued
‘DNA isn’t a crystal ball for every kind of illness’ but potential benefits outweigh fears, says geneticist, Robert C. Green, MD, MPH.