I was eating lunch today at the Lotos Club with a good friend and mentor from SF today. This gentleman sits on corporate boards and is a tremendous advisor. Do you know what he said to me? Mind you, he always seems to have an answer and the experience to back it up. Today he said "I don't know" That's right, he said those 3 words. I was blown away. He and I agreed that the only reason was simply because.....No One Knows. I liken our venture into genomic medicine much like the microsoft and internet ages. No one knew...they were making up the rules as they went along.
Today, it is the same. Try to play with fire? You get burned. Try to find money for the perfect model and you get beat by someone rushing to market with something less than perfect....who then ends up buying a competitor. Jeez, genomics is the wild west. But I am back East!
I think we are well on our way. But legislators are stepping in and making the playing field bumpy for the non-medical types. Just as they send out threatening letters, the NY Times posts that Doctor No is going to say Yes. It is reported that GINA will have it's day in the Senate!
I have been saying forever that if you pass GINA, all the physician misconceptions of genetic discrimination will be washed away. That being said, there is some good advice here. Always consult your geneticist or counselor regarding these implications.
So as my poll closes tomorrow, it is pretty clear the majority lies with GINA getting passed next year. I voted for next month.....To quote my Friend Happy Gilmore "Somebody's Closer ;)"
So with GINA on its way, it is only a matter of time before we have more people enter this industry. Speaking of industry? Who is going to the Beyond Genome Conference in June?????
I will be speaking there about the fusion model of genomic medicine. Don't miss it! All 20 minutes of it ;)
My friend and I were eating and I said. Imagine what it will be like in 20 years? We will be the old timers. He said "Yeah, it'll be just like the internet crowd. You will probably be saying 'Man back then it really was amateur hour!'"
The Sherpa Says:
GINA is merely one hurdle.....now we really have to start with education.....of everyone. We must not let our curse of knowledge lead us into thinking everyone can do what we do. Who wants to help me start teaching? Call me. Oh, and Misha....I hope this pic meets your approval.
5 comments:
The words "I don't know" are words that are spoken by a person that is smart. We all know people who always have an answer for everything and know everything.
This is very true. I will be the first to say that there are many things which I don't know. But usually that stems more from my ignorance, than the fact that there remains a significant amount of known unknowns....and probably even more unknown unknowns when it comes to our genetic/proteomic/metabolomic/systems biology code.
Isn't that wonderful? I think it is truly amazing that we are investigating something wonderful and new. Where everyday there is a new discovery, means everday there is a new unknown.
We are so lucky to be alive in this era!
-Steve
Yup. I would love to become a clinical geneticist, but I'm too dumb to become a doctor. I don't have the grades. I would be lucky just to get into a graduate school for an MPH. So I’m stuck just reading articles about genetic topics and working a day job.
I just hope these personalized genetic companies working with the medical community. There is no point in a consumer knowledge test if it can be used medically.
You can become whatever you set your mind to. No matter who you are. But I am confused by your last point.
"There is no point in a consumer knowledge test if it can be used medically."
I am assuming you meant "Can't"
oh for God's sake, please stop.
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