EP 116: Genetics and Medicine: Clonal hematopoiesis, genomics in healthcare, and a new discovery in APOL1 kidney disease with Dr. Alex Bick
January 4, 2024
Join us for our first episode of 2024 as we welcome Dr. Alex Bick, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Genetic Medicine at Vanderbilt University. In this episode, we will explore the impact of clonal hematopoiesis on cancer and cardiovascular health, examine the integration of genomics in healthcare and preventative medicine, and discuss a recent finding from the Million Veterans Program of a modifier variant in APOL1 kidney disease.
0:00 Introduction
4:23 Insights into clonal hematopoiesis from the pioneering Framingham Heart Study
8:30 Linking clonal hematopoiesis to cancer and cardiovascular health
11:22 Interplay of germline and somatic variants in clonal expansion
17:20 How the rate of clonal expansion can provide insights into cancer and cardiovascular risk
19:00 How clonal hematopoiesis interplays with other orthogonal risk factors, including polygenic risk scores, and more established conventional heart health measures
21:00 Integration of genomic data in medical care, leading to the rise of preventative medicine
25:50 Insights into the Vanderbilt Genomics and Therapeutics Clinic
30:00 A dive into the Million Veterans Program, including the discovery of a modifier variant in the APOL1 gene related to kidney disease
44:05 How to differentiate the effects of modifier variants from risk variants in genetic studies
51:00 Individuals with APOL1 loss of function and its implications in kidney health
55:45 Closing remarks