genoME® is a community health research program supported by Memorial Hermann to help improve the health of the patients and the community we serve. Through no-cost genetic screening, the program looks at how your DNA could impact your health. The information we gain may help us improve personalized healthcare and support new research discoveries.
genoME® aims to enroll 100,000 individuals who are over 18 in this community health research program.
No. Participation is free and the genetic testing provided will not be billed to your health insurance or to you.
No. Research studies include only people who choose to participate. It is your choice whether or not you want to take part in this study and your decision will not impact your care at Memorial Hermann.
Click Join genoME® to express interest in participating in the program. You will have the opportunity to learn more about participating in the research program, read the informed consent form and if you agree to participate, provide your information to receive a DNA saliva collection kit at home that you will return to our partner Helix for genetic screening.
Once your sample is received at Helix, they will complete DNA analysis, also known as sequencing. Sequencing reads the code contained within the DNA so that it can be used for research. You will also receive an email from Helix offering you the opportunity to create an optional Helix account.
Yes. You will receive health results that will indicate if you have inherited certain risk factors in your DNA, meaning that the risk may have been passed from generation to generation in your family. Your family history alone, and standard medical screening tests, do not always identify risks for these conditions. Specifically, the test will tell you about your genetic risk for the following three conditions that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other medical professionals consider to be important enough to warrant further investigation of treatment:
In addition, if you sign up for a Helix account, you’ll receive information about your genetic ancestry and how your DNA may influence certain traits, such as your caffeine metabolism.
Together, you and your health care provider will receive health results from the genetic screening that will indicate if you have inherited certain risk factors in your DNA. About 1-2% (1 to 2 people out of 100) will be found to have a risk for one of the inherited cancer or heart conditions that are part of this study. If your results show you are at an increased risk for certain conditions, a member of the Memorial Hermann study team will contact you about your results and you will be able to schedule a genetic counseling appointment at no cost to you or your insurance.
Your health care provider may refer you to a specialist for more information, genetic counseling and/ or additional screenings, if needed.
The process takes about 12 weeks: from Helix receiving your saliva collection kit, to the time you receive your health results. Typically, your Ancestry and Traits results are ready within 8 weeks of the Helix lab receiving your sample. These results are available to you if you have created an optional Helix account. It may take another month before your health results are ready to view, as extra steps are taken to ensure your health results are accurate.
Genetic variations linked to ancestry and traits occur throughout the genome. They are responsible for the natural genetic diversity among people. These genetic variants estimate the most likely ancestry or traits that a person will have. They are not definitive and do not guarantee the occurrence of specific ancestry or traits. Sometimes, the ancestry and traits we express do not match what is expected based on DNA testing. There are a few reasons for this. First, Helix testing may not include all of the genetic variants linked to a specific trait or ancestry. Also, there may be interactions between genes that are not yet fully understood. Genetic traits are often influenced by multiple genes making it difficult to predict precise outcomes. Finally, genetic traits can be influenced by the environment or other factors. These factors can interact with your genetic makeup and contribute to differences between the traits you express and the traits expected based on your DNA testing.
No. The results of your ancestry and traits may be different from what you understand to be true about yourself. This does not mean the information provided to you about these results or your health results is inaccurate. It is important to understand that trait and ancestry results are estimates based on DNA patterns rather than definitive information. These results give insights into a person's genetic origins or predispositions. They do not guarantee the occurrence of specific ancestry or traits. While some traits are easy to predict based on genetic information, other traits are more complex and therefore more challenging to predict based on genetic data alone. Trait and ancestry results are different from Helix Health results. Helix Health testing looks for the presence or absence of specific genetic variants. Such variants have extensive evidence from the medical community linking them to risk for disease.
If you have a personal or family history of a condition covered by this test, it is important to know the results of this test do not change a previous diagnosis or any family history risk you might have. This is because there are other causes of cancer and heart disease that were not evaluated as part of this test. For example, lifestyle, family history, environment, personal medical history, and other genetic conditions all contribute to your overall health and personal risk for disease. In addition, the screening test provided as part of genoME® does not evaluate all genes associated with cancer and heart disease. Also, this test may not identify all DNA variants in the genes that were tested.
You may want to speak with a genetic counselor or your healthcare provider about the results of this test and whether additional or different genetic testing and general screening may be appropriate for you. In particular, participants with a negative genetic test and a clinical diagnosis of one of the conditions screened for by this test are recommended to consider a diagnostic genetics consultation to identify whether additional genetic testing or screening recommendations are indicated. A genetic counselor is a medical professional specifically trained to help you understand how your genetic information may impact your health and the health of your family members, discuss medical recommendations, and discuss how you can approach sharing any important information with others. Those communications would be separate from genoME®.
When it comes to your health, knowledge can be power. The earlier you know you’re at risk of a disease, the more you may be able to do to combat it. Earlier detection of disease risk may lead to better treatment outcomes and healthier results.
genoME® is a community health research program that may help put you in control of your health and your future:
It’s your health. It’s your future. Protect it. Join genoME®.
No. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) is a federal law that makes it illegal for health insurance companies, group health plans, and most employers to discriminate against you based on your genetic information. However, this law doesn’t protect you against genetic discrimination by companies when they consider selling you life insurance, disability insurance, or long-term care insurance. These companies must still abide by GINA when it comes to health insurance.
The information you contribute to genoME® will be used by researchers to study a wide range of questions around how DNA can impact health. The databases created in this research program will be used for future research by our genomics partner Helix, by us, and by other members of the Helix Research Network. That means, by agreeing to participate in the study, you are agreeing to have your information included in future research projects that are approved by us and by Helix.
Researchers outside of the Helix Research Network may also study your coded information and samples but will not have access to information that directly identifies you. These researchers may work for health systems, universities, government agencies, companies like drug companies and other foundations or groups interested in research. Any sharing of information outside of the network will be carefully reviewed and approved to make sure it is ethical, secure and protects your privacy.
We may share discoveries that are made by genoME® researchers through our website and newsletters.
Your privacy is very important to us, and we take many steps to ensure it is protected, such as:
With few exceptions, GINA prohibits employers from discriminating against their employees on the basis of genetic information in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, fringe benefits, or any other term or condition of employment. The law similarly prohibits labor organizations from excluding, expelling, or otherwise discriminating against an individual based on genetic information.
Importantly, GINA’s employment protections do not extend to all employees or in all circumstances. Most notably, these protections do not apply to employees at companies with fewer than 15 employees or to active members of the U.S. military.
Currently, federal protections against discrimination based on genetic information by health insurers do not extend to providers of life, disability, and long-term care insurance. That means companies offering these kinds of insurance may request access to genetic information in your medical record as part of the insurance application process (including information generated as part of your participation in this study) and may legally consider this information in deciding whether to extend your coverage or in determining the price they charge you.
If you already have an existing life insurance, disability insurance, or long-term care insurance policy, new information about your health (including genetic information) generally may not be used to deny you continuing coverage under those policies. However, the terms of individual policies vary significantly and you should read your policy carefully to understand how results could impact your coverage or insurance rates.
If you decide to participate in the genoME® study, your information will be stored in databases that are maintained and monitored by a team of IT and security professionals who are committed to safeguarding the information stored in those systems. These systems include numerous technical, physical and administrative safeguards that meet, and in some cases exceed, industry best privacy and cybersecurity practices, including standards established by the National Institutes of Science and Technology (“NIST”), the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (“AICPA”), and applicable state and federal laws, such as HIPAA. Some of the technical safeguards we’ve implemented include rigorous identification, authorization and access controls, audit and logging procedures, configuration management, system and communication protections and endpoint monitoring, data loss prevention systems, encryption of data at rest and in transit, and vendor risk management procedures. Although we generally do not share the details of how these controls and safeguards have been configured, we can share that our privacy and security programs are reviewed annually by third party auditors to ensure our safeguards are operating as expected and in a manner consistent with industry standards.
For questions about genoME® research, informed consent, benefits of being a participant, and follow up care after testing positive – Please contact Memorial Hermann genoME® research team via email: genomeresearch@memorialhermann.org or by phone: (713) 704-5610.
For questions related to the informed consent process and using the informed consent website (including updates to email and phone number), and for questions related to the shipment of a sample collection kit, or creating or accessing an optional Helix account - Please contact Helix customer support by phone, email or by filling out an online request: (844) 430-0468 // support@helix.com // Online form: https://support.helix.com/s/contactsupport.