Genomics England: The Role of Genomic Sequencing of Newborns

In the United States, shortly after birth, every newborn receives a series of screening tests to identify treatable diseases. Every September we celebrate this amazing system of research, public health, and clinical care that saves the lives of babies every day with Newborn Screening Awareness month.  Neonatal screening also occurs around the world and many countries are working on innovative approaches to use genomics to significantly expand, or improve, our ability to screen, diagnose, and treat hundreds if not thousands of additional diseases. We are excited to feature one of these innovators on the Newborn Screening Spotlight, Dr. David Bick who, is the Principal Clinician for the Newborn Genomes Programme at Genomics England.  Genomics England is undertaking an effort to include genomics in neonatal screening.

 

Prior to his work in England, he was the Chief Medical Officer and a faculty investigator at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.  He came to HudsonAlpha from the Medical College of Wisconsin where he was Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Medical College of Wisconsin.  At the Medical College of Wisconsin he was the Director of the Clinical Sequencing Laboratory, Director of the Advanced Genomics Laboratory at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Medical Director of the Genetics Clinic at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and Chief of the Division of Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics at Medical College of Wisconsin. 

 

Dr. Bick received his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in 1981 and completed his residency in Pediatrics at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT.  At the Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Bick completed a fellowship in Human Genetics and Pediatrics in 1986, followed by a post-doctoral research fellowship in Human Genetics in 1987.  Dr. Bick is board certified in Pediatrics, Clinical Genetics, and Clinical Molecular Genetics.

 

He is a leader in the field of genomic medicine and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and reviews.  Dr. Bick’s laboratories at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin were the first in the world to offer whole genome sequencing as a clinical test.  He also developed the first Genomic Medicine Clinic in the United States. Join us as we learn about the role of genomic sequencing of newborns.

 

Podcast Interview Questions for Dr. David Bick

 

1. Bick, thank you for joining us for the newborn screening SPOTlight podcast, we would love for our listeners to get know you and the impact you’ve made on clinical genomic medicine, newborn screening research. You’re a pediatrician, researcher, and leader in genomic medicine. How did you get involve with newborn screening research?

 

2. You were a faculty in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where your laboratory was the first to offer whole genome sequencing as a clinical test. What advice can you share for others who are interested in proposing the implementation of genome sequencing in their hospitals?

 

3. You have now moved to the UK to be the Principal Clinician for the Newborn Genomes Programme at Genomics England. Can you tell our listeners more about this program?

 

4. From your experiences at the Screen4Care consortium and the European collaborative Innovative Medicines Initiative, what are lessons that we in the US can learn from?

 

5. In your recent publication titled “Newborn Screening by Genomic Sequencing: Opportunities and Challenges,” you describe the need for “standardization of data formats and analytical approaches within and even between health systems” to support newborn screening by genome sequencing. There are differences between the UK and US health care delivery system. How do you envision this process of standardization in the UK? How can the US with its various health care delivery systems and health insurance plans be able to adopt a similar approach?

 

6. Are you involved in training the next generation of pediatrician nd what do you tell them about newborn screening research?

 

7. What role could NBSTRN play to support international efforts in advancing rare disease research and screening for diseases for which early intervention may improve outcome?

 

8. What does NBS research mean to you?