#225 Fetal Antigen Noninvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) with BillionToOne

Last episode we learned about non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for recessive conditions through BillionToOne’s UNITY Screen. Jen Hoskovec, Senior Director of Medical Affairs at BillionToOne, is back for this episode where we are exploring NIPT for fetal antigen. Jen is BillionToOne’s Senior Director of Medical Affairs. Jennifer Hoskovec, MS, CGC,  joined BillionToOne as the Senior Director of Medical Affairs in July 2020. As a certified genetic counselor with over 17 years of clinical experience, Jen is committed to ensuring patients and providers are supported and educated about the options and utility of prenatal testing. Jen joined BillionToOne after 17 years as a prenatal genetic counselor at UTHealth where she led a team of genetic counselors providing patient care in MFM clinics across the city of Houston. Jen has extensive volunteer and leadership experience within national societies such as American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and National Society of Genetic Counselors. She served as president of NSGC in 2014. Jen earned her MS in genetic counseling from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Truman State University. On This Episode We Discuss: Antigens Which antigens are screened for in UNITY Alloimmunization and who is at risk Why learning fetal antigens is useful during a pregnancy Prevalence of and risks associated with HDFN Hemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn  Sensitivity and specificity of UNITY Screen’s NIPT for fetal antigen The minimum gestational week blood for this test can be collected How providers can order both the UNITY for recessive conditions and fetal antigen The average turnaround time for these tests Learn more about UNITY Screen’s novel fetal antigen NIPT and the genetic conditions and fetal antigens on UNITY Screen NIPT at these links. To stay up to date with the latest developments at BillionToOne, follow them on Twitter, facebook and LinkedIn. You can also connect with our guest, Jen Hoskovec on Twitter.    Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on March 3rd, 2023! New episodes are released every Friday. In the meantime, you can binge over 224 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”. Episodes since 2021 are also recorded with video which you can watch on our YouTube channel.   DNA Today is hosted and produced by Kira Dineen. Our social media lead is Corinne Merlino. Our video lead is Amanda Andreoli. Our Outreach Intern is Sanya Tinaikar. Our Social Media Intern is Kajal Patel. And our Graphic Designer Ashlyn Enokian. See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNAToday.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNAtoday.com.  If you’ve been listening to DNA Today for a while, you probably know I am also a full time prenatal genetic counselor. Between that job, this podcast, and being a producer/host of other podcasts, I am pretty busy! To keep my energy up and stay productive I drink a decent amount of coffee. The new coffee I’m drinking is from Four Sigmatic. I’m really picky about my coffee, it’s got to be bold, not watery. And I’ve been really happy with Four Sigmatic. Here’s the difference from other coffees, it includes mushrooms, which I know sounds bizarre. I will admit I was hesitant, but you get health benefits and don’t taste it. I like the immune system boost, as I often get sick in the winter months. So we teamed up with Four SIgmatic to get you 30% off using promo code “DNATODAY” redeem it at FourSigmatic.com, again that’s FourSigmatic.com using code “DNATODAY” for 30% off! And let me know if you like it too! (Sponsored) Surely you have heard of whole genome sequencing, but what about rapid and ultra-rapid whole genome sequencing? This is an emerging method of diagnosing genetic conditions for quick management. PerkinElmer Genomics offers this incredibly valuable test, which can be life saving for ill babies and kids. Learn more in our full episode with PerkinElmer Genomics on here, DNA Today! You can visit perkinelmergenomics.com for more information, the link is also available in the show notes and on our website DNAtoday.com. (Sponsored) Which drug do you prescribe for your HER2+ cancer patients?  For the first time in history TruGene Diagnostics (formerly Blueprint Diagnostics)  informs you which of the 3 leading cancer drugs your patient is sensitive to and resistant to. TruGene Diagnostics knows the functional effect of EVERY mutation in the TK region of HER2 Gene. And knows the functional effect with and without the 3 most common drugs present.  Thus allowing you to match the best drug to the patient. Unlock the best drug for your patients with HER2+ cancer using TruGene Diagnostics. Check it out at TruGeneDiagnostics.com. Stay tuned for our interview with them! (Sponsored)