Many genetic tests are not covered by insurance. So, when families struggle to find answers for their child’s undiagnosed medical problems, the journey can be difficult and genetic testing is not always feasible. Thanks to a recent grant from the Quarterbacking Children’s Health Foundation, more families will be able to find answers through the Smith

Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine celebrating five years of serving the community and finding answers When the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine opened in 2015 on the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology campus, it was the one of the first clinics in the world to use genomic sequencing technology to find answers for rare

The Smith Family Clinic for Genomic is celebrating four years since its grand opening on the HudsonAlpha campus. Since 2015, the clinic has seen more than 300 patients and continued to find answers for those with rare and undiagnosed diseases like Robert Barnette. Robert’s mother, Carol Barnette sat down with AL.com to discuss how she spent 55 years searching for

Alabama family finds answers at Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine “Years went by, and we knew nothing.” This is a common phrase heard at the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine. Usually from a patient or family member who has spent years searching for a diagnosis for themselves, or a loved one. Carol Barnette

The Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine was featured in a new series from Front Line Genomics, “Digital DNA,” which explores the role of large-scale genetic testing in science, industry and society. David Bick, MD, discussed how the Smith Family Clinic uses the power of genomics to diagnose patients with rare diseases. “We think the

The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology offers a two-week summer mini-rotation for genetic counseling students across the U.S. Stacey Edwards, a student at Baylor University, was selected to spend two weeks working alongside the genetic counseling team at HudsonAlpha. We sat down with Stacey to learn more about her experience this summer. Why did you apply

Smith Family Clinic geneticist David Bick, MD, FACMG, along with HudsonAlpha Faculty Investigator Elaine Lyon, PhD, FACMG, will participate in the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) working group to update standards for interpreting genetic sequence variants test results in a clinical setting. Bick and Lyon participated in creating the first set of standards for variant interpretation, and now

Rare disease patients spend an average of eight years searching for a diagnosis, and for some, that search can last decades. April Hudson of Quinton, Ala., began showing symptoms of an unknown disease at three years old. She would go on to see 200 physicians before finally learning the true cause of her symptoms nearly

Confusion, nausea, fever, anger, then back to normal. This was Lauren Vandiver’s life beginning in early childhood. Her parents, Phillip and Angela Vandiver, spent more than twenty years asking the question “why?” Why is she forgetting who we are? Why is she throwing up? Why is she so angry? They knew there had to be

The 2nd annual Alabama Rare Disease Patient/Caregiver Symposium will take place March 2, 2019 in Birmingham, Ala.  At this free symposium, presented by Alabama Rare, Children’s of Alabama, Rare Disease Day and UAB Medicine, attendees will break down the process of diagnosing a genetic and non-genetic rare disease; discuss what is involved in finding approved and