Genomics and public health have been uneasy bedfellows for some time. In a commentary in the May issue of Genetics in Medicine, James P. Evans, a geneticist and editor-in-chief of the journal, argues that it is time to start looking at genetic testing through the lens of disease prevention. By expanding the field’s focus from common to rare diseases, it may be possible to realize the promise of public health genomics by identifying millions of individuals who unknowingly carry mutations that confer a dramatic predisposition to preventable diseases.
Read the original post here: We screen newborns, don’t we?: Realizing the promise of public health genomics