Collins hits the gym following genetic testing - October 26, 2009
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing can count one more consumer — the director of the US National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins.
Collins announced today at a personalized medicine colloquium in Washington DC that he spat into a set of tubes and sent off his genetic material under a pseudonym to three of the leading personal genetic testing companies. He said that all the companies provided highly accurate genotyping, but with substantial differences in the information that was revealed and the interpretations provided — similar to the conclusions reached by Collins's former human genome sequencing rival, Craig Venter, in a recent opinion article in Nature.
On a more personal level, Collins discovered that he carries two copies of the most common risk factor of type II diabetes. Collins, whose laboratory investigates the underlying genetic basis of adult-onset diabetes, said he was "surprised" by these findings since his family has no history of the disease. Upon learning the test results, Collins got off his Harley-Davidson and instigated a regular exercise regime. The svelter NIH director said he has now lost 20 pounds.
Official NIH photos from before and after Collins became director. Check out those gaunt cheeks!
Comments
Interesting buy-in he has to the validity of these tests. Even if the predictive value is poor, and I'm not even going to comment on the interpretation, he's healthier for his regular exercise and weight loss. Kudos Director Collins!
Posted by: dw | October 26, 2009 09:01 PM
Dr. Collins is in good company, see "Celebs for Prevention" at http://www.junkdna.com/hologenomics_history.html
pellionisz_at_junkdna.com
Posted by: Andras J. Pellionisz | November 2, 2009 06:52 PM