MAGNET: MAKING GENOMICS ACCESSIBLE FOR NEWBORNS IN TEXAS

ABSTRACT The great advances made in genomic medicine that impact diagnoses and care of newborn babies in large academic centers in Texas are generally not available at most level III and level IV NICUs across the state. Major populations in predominantly Hispanic regions such as El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley lack local access to

medical genetic expertise, capacity for genomic testing, and frontline practitioners with the knowledge to leverage personal genomic data to improve care. Residents in these remote areas must travel over 300 miles to reach the nearest in-state geneticist. Only twenty years ago, less than three percent of genetic conditions in newborns

could be molecularly diagnosed. Today, with routine genomic tests at academic medical centers, over one third of these cases are diagnosed. Unfortunately, many babies born outside of these privileged communities lack access to genetic evaluation and testing, remain undiagnosed, and are unable to benefit from early personalized

medical treatment. Here, we propose to dramatically improve the diagnosis of the sickest newborns in hospitals across underserved regions of Texas using a new generation of clinical assays (whole genome and RNA sequencing), leveraging a lower cost sequencing technology and Consultagene, our established remote

consultation service and platform. This combined approach (MAGNET) will improve access to care, reduce health disparities, increase the scale and quality of the genomic data generated at reduced cost for the ethnic minority newborns, and advance personalized care. Moreover, we propose to make these diagnostic strategies

available through a telehealth-based approach expanding access to medical genetics expertise while improving patient and provider engagement and education, at both academic and community neonatal intensive care units across Texas. This strategy will greatly democratize genome technology, enhancing access in geographically

remote, poor, underserved, and minority communities, and reaching a much larger proportion of hospitalized newborns. As such, our work will serve as a model for providing genetic diagnoses in an equitable fashion amid diverse communities in NICUs across the United States.