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Life-Sparring Podcast - Round 4: Show Notes

Synopsis:

In April 2016, I published a Life-Sparring blog article called Deconstructed Me – What I Learned About Myself Through DNA Analysis, describing my experience doing a 23andMe DNA genotyping and trying to make sense of the results.

The article attracted over time more than 5,000 views and is even five years later often among the most visited articles on the blog. I am not the only person fascinated with gene testing and its implications for preventive health and the nature vs. nurture discussion.

After listening to her carrying a few Clubhouse panels on genetics, I somehow tricked the fabulous Dena Goldberg, aka Dena DNA, to jump into the Life-Sparring ring with me to discuss genetic testing for health.

Dena holds a master’s degree in genetic counseling from the University of California, Irvine, and is one of 5,000 board accredited Genetic Counselors. She also made it her mission to increase the public awareness of genetic testing for health and created her personal brand Dena DNA around it.

My discussion with Dena covers many aspects of genetic testing: We talk about the role of a genetic counselor, the fundamental difference between DTC genotyping and targeted sequencing panels, potential pitfalls in interpreting genotyping data, nutrigenomics, critical genetic defects to look for, the future of gene therapy and even CRISPR gene editing.

Dena is exceptionally knowledgeable and has the talent to break complicated scientific topics down so that even people without much background knowledge can easily digest them.

If you are interested in understanding your genetic makeup, I am sure you will find this Life-Sparring Round with Dena DNA as insightful as I do.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Original Deconstructed Me article on the Life-Sparring blog

Dena’s Instagram Account

Dena’s Linktree with links to all of her major social media profiles

A Nature.com article Dena recommends on the problem of false positives related to DTC gene testing

The American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC)

Dena’s master program at the University of California, Irvine

Clubhouse Drop-in audio chat: signup page

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About the Life-Sparring Podcast:

Sparring is an important part of martial arts; it is the reality check of your abilities. As Mike Tyson famously said: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." Life-Sparring takes the sparring from the ring into real life. Hear Life-Sparring host Fabian Gruber punching above his weight, interviewing top experts in their respective fields, trying to fight (his own) mediocrity one round at a time.

The Life-Sparring podcast is hosted by Fabian Gruber and produced by Thomas Latter.

Intro and Outro beat is produced by Markezi Producer.

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