Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

People in the News: Jill Hagenkord, Robert Daber

Premium

Personal genetic testing firm 23andMe has hired Jill Hagenkord as its chief medical officer. She will be the company's liaison to physician, medical, genetics and research industry groups, and oversee laboratory operations.

Before joining 23andMe, Hagenkord was senior VP of medical strategy for InVitae, another genetics firm. She has subspecialty training in both pathology/oncology informatics and molecular genetic pathology.


Bio-Reference Laboratories announced that Robert Daber has taken on a dual role at the company's Elmwood Park, NJ, headquarters as director of research and development and director of cancer genetics. Before joining Bio-Reference Laboratories, Daber was technical director of clinical genetics at the University of Philadelphia.

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.