Stanford Personal Genome Class in News

I am very pleased that Stanford medical school (disclaimer:  I work for Stanford) is offering a class on personalized genomics.  A cool but controversial (some say potentially dangerous) feature of this course is offering the option to students to get part of their genome measured (1 million SNPs).  The course is introducing the concepts of genomics to the students and giving them a preview of how genomics may impact medical practice in the future.  At the same time it is important to ensure that the students understand that the tests as they exist today are not likely to be the ones used in clinical practice.  The tests will need clear medical guidelines for interpretation, and we will need to decide if genetic tests are done “as needed” or “once at birth” or something in between.  The recent coverage is in SF Chronicle and USA Today.   It is critical that the next generation of physicians understand what is coming.

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