Alabama is Offering Free Genetic Testing. Here’s Why.

 ========= Old Image Removed =========1Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2019/03/AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:1920;s:6:"height";i:1080;s:4:"file";s:49:"2019/03/AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:13:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-336x189.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-771x434.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:434;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-768x432.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:432;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"1536x1536";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:50:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-1536x864.jpg";s:5:"width";i:1536;s:6:"height";i:864;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:47:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-553x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:553;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-470x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"AL_Genomics_Health_Initiative-34-EDIT-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 0
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => The University of Alabama at Birmingham
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"sizes";a:10:{s:4:"full";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:11821372;s:14:"optimized_size";i:478215;s:7:"percent";d:95.950000000000003;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:8575;s:14:"optimized_size";i:7988;s:7:"percent";d:6.8499999999999996;}s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:23909;s:14:"optimized_size";i:22391;s:7:"percent";d:6.3499999999999996;}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:103310;s:14:"optimized_size";i:97992;s:7:"percent";d:5.1500000000000004;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:3543;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3223;s:7:"percent";d:9.0299999999999994;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:66161;s:14:"optimized_size";i:62845;s:7:"percent";d:5.0099999999999998;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:30027;s:14:"optimized_size";i:28420;s:7:"percent";d:5.3499999999999996;}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:56791;s:14:"optimized_size";i:53838;s:7:"percent";d:5.2000000000000002;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:43222;s:14:"optimized_size";i:40846;s:7:"percent";d:5.5;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:7193;s:14:"optimized_size";i:6644;s:7:"percent";d:7.6299999999999999;}}s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:12164103;s:14:"optimized_size";i:802402;s:7:"percent";d:93.400000000000006;}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

    [_edit_lock] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1696017612:84
        )

    [_edit_last] => Array
        (
            [0] => 84
        )

)
1637561210 
1553593128

The Alabama Genomic Health Initiative offers free genetic testing to all residents. The plan is to recruit 10,000 people who reflect the diversity of the state.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham

Twenty-four-year-old Erika Garrett is not afraid of needles. She didn’t flinch while giving blood recently at a pop-up clinic in Hale County, about 45 minutes from Tuscaloosa. Garrett is participating in the Alabama Genomic Health Initiative, a state-funded project that offers free genetic testing to residents. The pop-up clinic is an effort to reach people in rural parts of the state. Garrett is from the area and says she has been waiting a while for this opportunity.

“I’m here to get my genetic testing done because my mother has had breast cancer twice and she has, luckily, she has survived both times,” Garrett says.

Garrett wants to know if she is also likely to get breast cancer. The test will look for 59 genetic mutations tied to a higher risk for certain conditions, like cancer or heart problems. Geneticists and clinicians from UAB and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology are leading the initiative. Director Renie Moss says one to three percent of people will test positive for a mutation. These participants will receive advice from a genetic counselor about how to prevent and detect the condition.

“If you knew you had these markers, if you knew this ahead of time,” Moss says, “then all of these things are potentially actionable. And that’s really the goal is to give you more control of your health.”

And there is another goal. All participants have the option to add their blood samples to a biobank for future research. The Alabama Genomic Health Initiative plans to recruit 10,000 people who reflect the diversity of the state. Moss says that is especially important. A recent study shows that across the board, genomics research does not accurately represent all populations.

“Historically, those biorepositories and the data have been very Indo-European, very white,” Moss says. “That’s not Alabama.”

A broader understanding of genetics will be even more useful in the future, according to Dr. Bruce Korf, the chief genomics officer at UAB and a leader on the state project. Korf says right now, people may only associate genetics with diagnosing rare diseases or personalizing cancer therapy, but he expects that to change.

“You know we’re just beginning to see a real return of value from genomic medicine,” Korf says. “Go to sleep for a few years and wake-up and you’ll see a completely different picture.”

Korf says as we learn more about genetics, it will likely become a more routine part of medical care. The statewide initiative is a way to prepare both residents and health care providers for that future, through education and exposure.

“The goals here in part are to sort of test our ability to deploy genomic testing on a really wide scale to diverse populations in the state,” Korf says.

The Alabama Genomic Health Initiative began in 2017 and is expected to wrap up in 2022. The state is spending $2 million a year on the project. Korf says Alabama is one of the only states in the country to fund a study like this. He says it is even inspiring some plans for the national initiative All of Us.

Still, not everyone wants to participate. Some people are concerned about privacy, though study leaders assure data is secure and protected by an NIH Certificate of Confidentiality. Others might not want to know this kind of information. A genetic risk is not a diagnosis and does not guarantee one. But even so, knowing you are at risk for a disease can still cause anxiety.

Back in Hale County, Erika Garrett feels a little nervous. With her mother’s history in mind, she is thinking about what she will do if she tests positive for a higher risk for breast cancer.

“Well I’d probably cry first,” Garrett says, “and then I’ll probably see what is, what would be my best outcome would probably be UAB, go to UAB, where she has been twice.”

Going to UAB would mean driving over an hour and a half away for medical care. For now, Garrett will wait and see. She should receive her results in about two to four months.

 

Trump names former Florida AG Pam Bondi as his new pick for U.S. attorney general

After former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration, President-elect Donald Trump named Pam Bondi, a former attorney general of Florida, as his next pick for U.S. attorney general.

Police report gives details, timeline of the sexual assault claim against Pete Hegseth

The woman who accused then-Fox News host of sexual assault in 2017 said that she "remembered saying 'no' a lot," according to a police report. Hegseth is President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of Defense.

Alabama Black Belt’s sewer crisis a tougher fix for residents in manufactured homes

Poor sanitation has long plagued residents in Alabama’s Black Belt. For people with manufactured houses, finding a solution has been more challenging.

In Birmingham, Black men’s groups work to save young men from the cycle of gun violence

As the city inches closer to its homicide record, community members are trying to address a sense of fatalism and lack of opportunity felt by some young men.

What is the ICC and can it really arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?

The ICC also issued warrants for Yoav Gallant, former Israeli defense minister, and Hamas leader Muhammad Deif. But it doesn't have an enforcement mechanism and relies on states to make the arrests.

Former Brazilian president indicted over alleged coup plot

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro and several others have been charged with attempting to overthrow incoming government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.

More Front Page Coverage