Post by Muhammad Ameen, PhD, MB(ASCP)

The journey has officially begun! Over the past week, I have reached out to more than 100 clinical laboratory geneticists, molecular geneticists, and genomics leaders across North America. Not to sell anything. Not to look for a job. But to learn. As a human genetics scientist participating in the Genesis Evolve program, I have become increasingly interested in understanding the opportunities and challenges facing clinical genomics laboratories as genomic testing continues to expand. Special thanks to Matthew Cadigan at @Genesisnl for always challenging us to solve real problems and not just bedroom assumptions (: The questions I'm exploring currently include: 1. How are laboratories preparing for the growing demand for genomic testing? 2. What are the biggest operational challenges in clinical genomics today? 3. How are laboratories managing variant interpretation at scale? 4. What happens to the growing number of Variants of Uncertain Significance (VUS) being identified every day? 5. What capabilities will laboratories need over the next decade as genomic medicine becomes more integrated into healthcare? One thing I've learned early in this process: The future of genomic medicine will not be determined by sequencing technology alone. It will also depend on the people, workflows, infrastructure, and systems that transform genomic data into clinically meaningful insights. I'm looking forward to learning from leaders across the field and sharing key insights along the way. For those working in clinical genomics, genetic testing, molecular diagnostics, or genomic medicine: What do you believe is the biggest challenge our field must solve over the next 5 years? #Genomics #GenomicMedicine #HumanGenetics #PrecisionMedicine #RareDisease #MolecularDiagnostics #ClinicalGenomics #HealthcareInnovation #CCMG