Emily Drabant Conley on 23andMe: We are at the infancy of a genomic revolution

It has been almost 5 years since I originally published my 23andMe DNA Test review where I concluded that it was right for me. I also asked you to seriously consider if it may or may not be right for you too. And so, if you still have not considered the risks, the benefits and the costs of doing a DNA test, then today’s episode is for you. I was very fortunate to get an interview with Emily Drabant Conley – research scientist and director of business development at 23andMe. And Dr. Conley was very forthcoming and generous in replying to and addressing a variety of issues related to genetic testing in general and 23andMe in particular. So check out the interview and consider how it may relate to or be useful for you. During our 45 min conversation with Emily Drabant Conley we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: her background in neuroscience and professional responsibilities at 23andMe (aff); her dream of personalized medicine; the types of information costs and benefits that 23andMe provides; the FDA “seize and desist letter”; how we get “accurate” and “actionable” DNA data; the choice to know or not to know your genes; privacy, hacking and who owns your genetic data; the benefits of full genome testing as well as a huge database system; accessing your raw data and 23andMe’s open API; reading, interpreting and eventually writing DNA… You can see the video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/emily-drabant-conley-23andme/