This new Houston lab is translating genetics research into clinical diagnostics
DNA innovation
A new lab at Baylor College of Medicine is primed to do groundbreaking work in the field of genetics.
Baylor Genetics has paired with Baylor’s department of molecular and human genetics to launch the Medical Genetics Multiomics Laboratory (MGML). The goal for the collaboration is to turn research into clinical diagnostics.
MGML’s freshly launched first clinical test is Whole Transcriptomic RNA Sequencing (WT RNAseq). The new test builds upon the success of existing tests like whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS) currently on offer from Baylor Genetics by focusing on additional variants that could be missed by the other tests.
Baylor Genetics is offering WT RNAseq to the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) and its affiliated institutions. For more than a decade, the NIH-funded UDN has united clinical and research experts from across many fields and institutions to give answers to patients with rare genetic diseases. Since it became one of the first institutions to join the UDN in 2014, Baylor Genetics has been the UDN’s sequencing core, using WES, WGS and RNA sequencing to help diagnose patients. The additional offering of WT RNAseq could improve the diagnostic yield by as much as 17 percent.
“This agreement, and the MGML lab, bring to life our vision of innovation, allowing us to co-develop new tests, evaluate in terms of clinical utility, and offer commercially in either a research or clinical setting,” says Dr. Brendan Lee, professor, chair and Robert and Janice McNair Endowed Chair of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, and scientific advisory and board of directors member at Baylor Genetics. “Baylor Genetics is turning around critical high-volume testing, but the challenge is also maintaining our innovative edge and our position as leaders in discovery and genomic health implementation. This agreement is a realization of the vision when Baylor Genetics was founded 10 years ago.”
The lab’s product offerings will continue to expand as it becomes commercially feasible to do so, and the new tests will be used both commercially and clinically.
Baylor Genetics combines the powers of Baylor College of Medicine, which has the NIH’s best-funded department of molecular and human genetics, and Japanese clinical diagnostic testing company H.U. Group Holdings.
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