Seven children’s hospitals across the United States, including Sanford Children's in Sioux Falls, are collaborating to perform cutting-edge pediatric care. The goal of the project is to integrate genetics and genomics into primary and specialty care when treating children.

The mission of the Sanford Children’s Genomic Medicine Consortium is to work together on innovative clinical program development, advocacy for children, cutting-edge research and educational programs for the future of genomic medicine.

The initial projects involve a study of rapid whole genomic sequencing in critically ill newborn infants, and a study evaluating the routine use of an extensive, pediatric-focused, next generation sequencing panel in the diagnosis of childhood cancers.

According to Dr. Gene Hoyme, Medical Director at Sanford Children's Genomic Medicine Consortium, pediatric cancers have different genetic origins compared with adult cancers, and current panels primarily focus on adult cancers rather than pediatric cancers.

“I am thankful to each member hospital for their participation in the Sanford Children’s Genomic Medicine Consortium,” said Dr. Hoyme. “So much can be gained for the care of children through the collaboration of these hospitals.”

Extending precision medicine to children’s health through this consortium is inspired by the vision of Denny Sanford. In 2014, the health care philanthropist gave $125 million to Sanford Health to create Sanford Imagenetics, the first program in the nation to embed the latest in genomic medicine with primary care.

Source: Sanford Children's Hospital


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