Thanks

The Annual APHA meeting is one of my favorite times of year. It is by all accounts the time that – ready or not- we get to look back to see how far we’ve come, and aspire towards new goals for the future. While we are still a young, loosely-knit, organization with unmet goals, we’ve come a long way. We’ve grown exponentially, our program is unique among genetics and public health conferences bringing together diverse presentations, scholars, practitioners, and stakeholders, and we have a good time. Dean has recently posted two blogs to this site that adeptly speak to this looking ahead and looking behind that comes this time of year. Adding to that, whether you participated this year in person, by phone, or in spirit, Thank you.

On a personal note, I’d also like to thank you for providing me the opportunity to Chair this group for the past two years. I often get caught at the end of a Forum conference call saying that “This committee, or this type of call, or the people on the call, are my favorites...” While logically, this can never be (there can be only one favorite), it’s a true statement nonetheless. The Forum is (one of) my favorite(s) because of the members, because of you.

Another reason I’m so fond of the Genomics Forum is that it is a space to develop what an acquaintance of mine once called the ultimate skill in public health: The ability to speak with and to the head, the heart and the pocket. I believe the Forum membership does just that – From the head, we are deep in the knowledge and intricacies of genomics and public health having members who study and work in genetic epidemiology, behavioral sciences, genetics education, public health practice, nursing, and medicine (just to name a few).

And we know the language of the heart: Debbie Klein-Walker, a past-president of APHA, and supporter of the Forum as it was being officially reviewed by the APHA governing bodies, described APHA as a volunteer organization of many passions making it at once a vibrant and exciting place to be, as well as challenging waters to navigate. The Forum, happily, is one of those passionate groups adding vibrancy to the world’s largest and oldest public health professionals organization. Over the past two years I have heard from many of you about where your passions lie – in your concerns and hopes for what genomics and public health might do together, in your drive towards assuring genomics helps in eliminating health disparities, in a diverse and competent public health genomics workforce, in policy development that supports the vision of public health of healthy people in healthy communities.

And, thankfully, we are a group that has a commitment towards looking into our pockets to bring what we can to the table. Whether you have reviewed abstracts, led a working group or committee, sent an email to find out what exactly it is that we do, or are still hoping to find some time for the Forum later this year, it all contributes to where we are, and where we might end up at this time next year. And the year after that.

I’m looking forward to what our heads, our hearts, and our pockets come up with next.

Nicole Exe- the new Genomics Forum Secretary

Please help me welcome Nicole Exe to the Genomics Forum leadership team. Nicole Exe is the Secretary of the Genomics Forum. She is currently a research associate at the Center for Behavioral and Decision Sciences in Medicine (CBDSM) at the University of Michigan Health System. Her work focuses on how patients understand, react, and make decisions about their health care including genetic testing. She has a Master's in Public Health in Health Behavior and Health Education with a concentration in Public Health Genetics and a Bachelor's in Biology both from the University of Michigan. She has previously been an intern at Genetic Alliance, worked for the Center for Public Health and Community Genomics on the Midwest Genomics Forum, and also taught genetics through the University of Michigan biology department. Genetics has been a passion Nicole has been pursuing for many years.

Nicole's current work for CBDSM includes a project studying communication methods and decision making around genetic tests with veterans and their families.This research is one of the necessary steps to make genetic testing for common diseases in the general population a reality.

As the Secretary of the Genomics Forum Nicole’s will be responsible to assist committee chairs to schedule committee calls, send out call information, and take meeting minutes. If you have any questions about the Forum or related activities please feel free to contact Nicole at nexe@umich.edu. She can either answer your question or find someone who can.

Share your experiences from the Annual meeting

A few weeks ago, the Genomics Forum’s membership converged in Philadelphia for the APHA annual meeting. I was impressed and proud of the Forum’s presence at the meeting. Throughout the meeting, I found myself in awe at the high level of academic discussions around numerous topics of genetics and genomics in public health, particularly at both our Business Meeting and Poster Session. The interdisciplinary nature of our group, and everyone’s individual expertise stretching across many fields, makes us poised to further integrate the Forum into APHA, and beyond. To be a witness to this and to come to this realization was my take-home experience from the Annual meeting.



What was your take away message? What did you find interesting, impressive, exciting, etc? Was it an overarching theme or topic? A specific presentation? A conversation had at a social function?

-Dean Hosgood

The Inaugural GAPPNet Meeting

As 2009 is coming to a close, there have been some exciting new developments in the world of genomics. Last month I attended the Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention Network (GAPPNet) inaugural meeting in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The meeting was convened by the CDC Office of Public Health Genomics, UM Center for Public Health and Community Genomics, NCI Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, NHGRI, and AHRQ.

GAPPNet is a collaborative partnership of stakeholders “working together to realize the promise of genomics in healthcare and disease prevention.” The first day consisted of presentations from a number of academic, government, non-profit, and industry representatives. The second day was dedicated to working groups who were tasked with envisioning GAPPNet structure, outreach, and potential products or services.

On Day 2, one GAPPNet attendee spoke about genomics research and practice using a rowing metaphor. Currently we are all in various boats and we’re rowing in directions and at tempos dictated by our unique missions, visions, and funding sources. We don’t really know a lot about what’s going on in other boats and we may or may not be rowing in the exact same direction.

An organization like GAPPNet could help to get us all moving in the same direction—streamlining the pipeline from “bench to bedside” and beyond. Broadly, its activities would encompass four domains: Knowledge Synthesis and Dissemination, Development of Evidence-Based Recommendations, Translation Research, and Programs to Enhance Practice, Education, and Surveillance. As an opening salvo, GAPPNet collaborative efforts will produce a searchable online database of genomics scholarship and funded projects within the next year. This type of database would be highly beneficial for those seeking multi-disciplinary collaborators, networking, or ideas for future projects.

Anyone interested in learning more about GAPPNet activities and membership should visit their website: http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/translation/GAPPNet/index.htm

-Heather Honoré