• January 14, 2021: The role of mentoring in promoting DEI in STEM education and research
• January 21, 2021: How to be an effective mentor for Underrepresented STEM trainees.
  • Register in advance here

• The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) NewSTEPs is pleased to announce the first webinar in the New Disorders Workgroup Winter Webinar Series on Thursday, January 21, 2021, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm ET. This three-part webinar series will provide updates from programs screening for disorders not currently on the RUSP, both as pilot programs and as components of universal screening. This series will end with a discussion of future disorders that have been nominated for review by the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (ACHDNC) and/or are in current pilots.
• Please use this link to register for the webinar.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) has announced a new pilot program to train primary care providers on the basics of sickle cell disease. The Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Training and Mentoring Program (STAMP) is a collaboration between OMH, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and the HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care. STAMP is designed to equip providers with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and co-management support to care for low-complexity patients living with sickle cell disease. The program consists of free web-based trainings that will be offered from January – June 2020. Visit OMH’s sickle cell disease website to learn more about the program, register and see a calendar of upcoming trainings. Learn More.

Once a quarter NCC publishes the LIFT newsletter to provide an overview of the current genetic service delivery system. In addition to the quarterly memo, LIFT alerts are published when there is breaking policy news.  The recent LIFT newsletter included updates on the following legislation:

• • Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act
  • Medical Nutrition Equity Act
  • Access to Genetic Counselor Services Act
  • Genetic Information Privacy Act
  • Protecting Personal Health Data Act

Click here to see past newsletters and subscribe:  http://bit.ly/nccrgcLIFT

The Bridging the Gap Medical Interpreter Training prepares individuals to become successful medical interpreters. This language-neutral course, taught in English, is open to speakers of all languages. Prior experience in the medical and/or interpreting fields is helpful but not required! Students will learn the necessary skills to become a qualified medical interpreter by participating in group activities, gaining practice interpreting from day-one onward, and through the instruction and insight of our experienced trainers.   Multiple dates are available in 2020.

• https://xculture.org/medical-interpreter-training/bridging-the-gap-training-program/bridging-the-gap-for-medical-interpreters-course-description/?utm_campaign=fyi_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

• January 23, 1:00 pm ET – Rural Health Research Gateway:Rural Disparities in Health and Healthcare by Race and Ethnicity. This webinar will address differences in county-level premature death, individual-level differences in health status and differences in healthcare access and use by county racial and ethnic composition. Register.
• January 27, 10:00 am ET – Center for Disease Control – Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Human Genomics Research: Past, Present and Future. https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/events/ELSI_2020.htm

To better understand patient concerns, Tamara Bakewell our Oregon family advocates organized a Webinar on “Myths and Misconceptions of Genetic Services”. Genetic counselor Austin Bland answered several common misconceptions on genetic services that their patients mention in clinic visits, including “There’s nothing like this in my family – it can’t be genetic”, “They sell my information”, “The test is not reliable”, “This is my family’s fate”, and that “testing is too expensive”.  The WSRGN can help with webinars such as this one if you are interested.

The archived recording of the Newborn Screening Bioinformatics 101 National webinar is available. The webinar provides an overview of bioinformatics and describes how it applies at multiple levels, with newborn screening as the use case. 

Contact Sari Edelman with any questions.

Thursday, October 24, 2019 | 2:00–3:30 pm ET

Webinar Registration Link

This first installment of the SMA webinar series will provide a platform for state programs to share their knowledge and experiences implementing screening for SMA. Speakers will answer questions regarding implementation methods and activities, follow up best practices, and educational strategies related to SMA. Attendees may submit questions in advance for the speakers to address during the webinar to Kshea Hale by October 18, 2019.

This webinar will provide 1.0 P.A.C.E.® contact hour for participants who successfully complete this webinar.

Contact Kshea Hale if you have any questions.

The updated Pompe Disease ACT Sheet and newly developed Pompe algorithm are now available on the ACMG website.  The ACTion(ACT) Sheet describes the short-term actions a health professional should follow in communicating with the family and determine the appropriate steps in the diagnostic process. The accompanying algorithm presents an overview of the basic steps involved in determining the final diagnosis in the infant.