Getting to know our GenomeSmart experts. Kenny Wong - VP of Product
GenomeSmart company
5 min read
Getting to know our GenomeSmart experts. Why did I join GenomeSmart? David Niu famously said, “Great people attract great people, the quality of your team plays a big role in employee happiness” and here at GenomeSmart we are very happy. We’d like to tell you more about our VP of Product, Kenny Wong and what drives his passion for GenomeSmart.
Kenny in a snapshot Kenny was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Vancouver, B.C. He found his way into genetic counseling and his training at Sarah Lawrence College when he paired his love of genetics with his love of talking. A certified genetic
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counselor, Kenny has worked on both the clinical and business sides of
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genetics previously for UCSF, Counsyl and Myriad. A lover of urban life and the
latest in international food trends, Kenny enjoys living in San Francisco with his wife and their 20 month-old son sampling all of the City’s culinary treasures. Kenny is a big believer in the value of consistency and efficiency, whether in his personal life or in his business endeavors. This is likely what drove him to his career in the healthcare industry, as both consistency and efficiency are critical tenets of patient care. However, from his experience he knows providing care to each and every unique individual is a complex task and consistency and efficiency are often elusive for many reasons. So we asked Kenny:
What brought you to GenomeSmart? I believe that now, more than ever, we are at a crossroads where the consistent and efficient implementation of genetics is needed so we can evolve from genetics as niche to genetics as mainstream medicine available to everyone. In my 4 years at a perinatology clinic, I saw many patients that were referred to our clinic for various reasons such as a heart defect identified during a pregnancy ultrasound. In addition to counseling the patient on findings related to the cardiac abnormality (whether it was isolated or associated with a genetic condition), I would evaluate the need to offer genetic tests based on their personal and family history in compliance with medical guidelines. In some instances, the patient’s physician had already ordered these tests but I found that often no genetic testing had been previously offered. I noted that there wasn’t a clear pattern. There were just always a percentage of patients that hadn’t been offered testing. I always wondered and worried about the vast majority of patients from the OBGYNs that were not referred to our clinic and what percentage of these patients were offered appropriate genetic tests. Why was testing offered to some but not others?
Taking care of humans is INefficient
I left the perinatology clinic 9 years ago to join Counsyl, a startup laboratory that was the first to commercially launch a test that screens for 100+ genes for carrier screening. I was the product owner for this flagship product, which tested over a million patients before I left. I was fortunate to meet with hundreds of OBGYNs that ordered the Counsyl test and hear their positive support for testing but I was left scratching my head at why these physicians did not offer carrier screening to all of their patients. When I dug deeply into the issue, I realized the answer was very complex and had nothing to do with their understanding of the value of carrier testing but was most often due to a workflow issue and the complexity of taking care of women embarking on or undergoing pregnancy. Genetics is just one of many topics that they need to cover during their patient visits. Depending on the patient and their personal situation, the physician doesn’t always have the time to educate and offer patients the appropriate tests all the time. Sometimes, there are just way more pressing health issues for the patient. Also, the reality is genetics is still a relatively new space with growing complexity and it’s difficult for physicians to keep track of what they should be doing to incorporate genetic testing into standard of care and their daily office routine.
Keep the goal in mind: genetic testing to improve care, reduce risk of disease and help people live healthier lives While my years on the clinical side of healthcare challenged my love of consistency and efficiency, I’ve always valued the advancements in technology to address tough problems, especially problems rooted in tracking large data sets. I joined GenomeSmart because I see the value in a pre-test assessment platform that can be consistently offered to all individuals in an efficient manner to educate and make it easier to identify the appropriate genetic tests. And, most importantly, I believe it is the addition of technology to workflow that will ultimately help ensure that even when human factors get in our way, we can still consistently offer genetic testing to each and every patient tailored to their individual needs.
We are very happy to have a talented genetic counselor like Kenny on our team, a true believer of personalized medicine, efficiency, consistency and technology in healthcare. We'd love to hear your thoughts on how to consistently and efficiently offer genetic testing.
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