EP 187: Rethinking germline gene editing and revolutionizing women’s fertility with Helen O’Neill

Summary: 

This week on The Genetics Podcast, Patrick is joined by Helen O’Neill, molecular geneticist, founder of Hertility Health, and associate professor at University College London (UCL). They discuss how Helen’s experience as an identical twin sparked her interest in genetics, her firsthand account of the CRISPR baby controversy, and why stubborn perceptions and sensational headlines continue to cast a shadow over the gene editing field, despite major scientific progress.

Show Notes: 

0:00 Intro to The Genetics Podcast

00:59 Welcome to Helen and an overview of her career path and how being an identical twin sparked her interest in genetics

04:57 Technology shifts in embryonic and fetal biology over the span of Helen’s career

06:44 Helen’s firsthand account and reflections on the 2018 CRISPR baby controversy

11:56 Evolution of gene editing in the face of a stubborn perception of it

15:17 Findings from Helen’s recent study on the impact of genetic screening on embryo viability and the case for genome editing in IVF patients

20:09 The stalled progress of germline genome editing in the context of regulation and public opinion 

24:08 How newborn genome sequencing could transform early diagnosis and reproductive decision-making

26:13 The origin story for Hertility Health and how it’s transforming women’s access to fertility care

32:14 The strong impact of personalized health recommendations 

33:19 Challenges in using genetics to diagnose women’s health conditions and the vision for a longitudinal biobank

35:54 Future directions in Helen’s work on women’s health and genome editing

37:21 Closing remarks 

Find out more

• Hertility Health (https://hertilityhealth.com/)

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