Michigan State University senior vice president Stephen Hsu, a theoretical physicist and the founder of Genomic Prediction, demonstrates how the machine learning revolution, combined with the dramatic fall in the cost of human genome sequencing, is driving a transformation in our relationship with our genes. Stephen and Azeem Azhar explore how the technology works, what predictions can and cannot yet be made (and why), and the ethical challenges created by this technology.

In this podcast, Azeem and Stephen also discuss:

• FDA approval of the first genetic treatment for monogenic conditions and the work towards developing treatments for polygenic conditions like diabetes and cancer.
• How this technology might exacerbate existing social inequalities or create new ones; is it just an issue of access, or does it go further?
• Developing best practice protocols for governance and regulation of genomic technologies.

Further reading:

• “FDA approves novel gene therapy to treat patients with a rare form of inherited vision loss” (Dec. 19, 2017)
• “Genomic Prediction of Complex Disease Risk” (Dec. 27, 2018)
• “How Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Services Led to the Capture of the Golden State Killer” (September 2018)

Stephen Hsu @hsu_steve