At Navigenics, we join our colleagues in the genetics, health, and life science worlds in honoring the life of Senator Ted Kennedy.
The senator was not only a tireless advocate for health issues, but a leader who embraced health innovation. Years ago, he recognized the growing importance of genetic technologies in our lives, and worked to help pass one of the most important recent laws protecting our genetic information, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimation Act, or GINA.
GINA “opens a new frontier in medicine in which we read the genetic make up of patients to stop diseases before they even happen,” Kennedy said when GINA became law in 2008. “This legislation opens the door to modern medical progress for millions and millions of Americans… It’s the first civil rights bill of the new century of the life sciences. With its passage, we take a quantum leap forward in preserving the value of new genetic technology and protecting the basic rights of every American.”
To learn more about Senator Kennedy’s work on genetics and other aspects of health, visit his Senate website. You can learn more about GINA, just one part of Kennedy’s legacy, from the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Photo credit: The website of Edward M. Kennedy, United States Senator for Massachusetts, http://kennedy.senate.gov/
Stephanie Robin Sep 11, 2009
Thank you for posting such valuable information. Genetic testing is very important as I have learned the hard way and I wish there was more support for it. My name is Stephanie Robin and I am fighting Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer and have been sharing my story through my organization, THINK PINK. Each day I am amazed at the number of people I meet who have never heard of the Breast Cancer Gene (BRCA). I am on a mission to spread the word and help as many men and women as possible. Had I known about the BRCA gene, the past five years of my life may not have consisted of many grueling chemotherapy treatments and painful surgeries, let alone the daily fear of my children losing their mommy long before I had a chance to raise them. My THINK PINK team and I have a lofty goal to collect ONE MILLION clicks by Dec. 31, 2009. I invite you and your readers to help me in my mission – a simple click is all it takes!!! Please visit http://www.thinkpinkrocks.com and click to be counted and acknowledge that you now have the information that could save your life. Please share this link with your friends and family. It’s too important not to. Thank you XOXO.