#233 At-Home Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening with Juno Diagnostics

We are officially launching our Patreon next week on DNA Day, April 25th! To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA and 20th anniversary of the completion of the human genome. By becoming a Patreon supporter you can receive benefits like joining our exclusive genetics book/movie club, mentorship sessions with me, even being on an episode of DNA Today! If you sign up as a Patreon supporter in the next month (by May 25th) we will throw in an extra physical gift, a piece of DNA Today merch. We launch on DNA Day (April 25th) so you can celebrate our genetics holiday by becoming one of our first patrons then! As a prenatal genetic counselor, our host, Kira Dineen, is very intrigued to learn all about the new advances in non-invasive prenatal screening or NIPS. To see what’s new in at-home NIPS we are joined by experts from Juno Diagnostics (JunoDx), Katie Sagaser and Allison Rodgers!Katie Sagaser is the Director of Genetic Counseling at Juno Diagnostics. Katie’s team provides telehealth, prenatal genetic counseling services for patients undergoing Juno’s Hazel™ Non-Invasive Prenatal Screen – the first at-home, capillary-based NIPS for fetal aneuploidy. Prior to joining JunoDx, Katie was an assistant professor of Gynecology & Obstetrics in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Katie’s professional interests center on equitable access to genetic testing and access to comprehensive reproductive health care throughout the lifespan. Most recently, she was the lead author on NSGC’s Practice Guidelines for Expanded (Equitable) Carrier Screening. A member of both the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine Reproductive Health Advisory Group and NSGC's Public Policy Committee, Katie is also actively engaged in public policy work surrounding reproductive health and genetics. At Juno, Katie is passionate about using social and digital media to scale access to high-quality information on genetics and reproductive medicine.Dr. Allison Rodgers is a double board-certified OB-GYN and fertility doctor. She is currently the Director of Education at Fertility Centers of Illinois, a US Fertility Practice; additionally, she serves on the Clinical Advisory Board for Juno Diagnostics. Dr. Rodgers' personal experiences with secondary infertility and pregnancy loss inform her unique insights into reproductive medicine, contributing to compassionate and individualized patient care. She is published in top medical journals covering endometriosis, tubal factor infertility, in vitro fertilization, and donor sperm. Her special interests include in-vitro fertilization, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, unexplained infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, premature ovarian insufficiency, LGTBQIA+ fertility, reciprocal IVF, and transgender fertility. She completed her residency at Case Western Reserve-Metrohealth Medical Center Cleveland Clinic, followed by a fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. You may recognize Dr. Rodgers from Tik Tok and Instagram where she shares fertility education with more than 1.3 million followers!On This Episode We Discuss:The inspiration behind JunoDx and their goal/missionWhat drew Katie and Allison to JunoDxHow JunoDx’s technology/approach differs from other companies to successfully perform NIPS on a much smaller sample volumeHow does Juno’s at-home approach to sample collection for NIPS increases accessibility, particularly those in underserved or remote areasThe difference between JunoDx’s 2 NIPS, Hazel and BirchDetermining sex of the baby with Birch NIPSConditions included in the more comprehensive Hazel screeningThe process of ordering Hazel or Birch NIPS, collecting the sample, to learning the resultsThe positive predictive value and negative predictive values of the tests, what these values mean, and how they compare to other NIPS and other at-home NIPSThe evolution and future of at-home