Episode 18. The Genetic Future: Screening, Therapy, & Who Gets to Decide with Dr. Amitha Ananth

What can genetic testing actually tell us—and what happens when the science advances faster than our ability to interpret, afford, and govern it? Pediatric neurogeneticist Dr. Amitha Ananth joins Abhishek and Corey for a wide-ranging conversation about the uncertainty behind genetic testing, the promise and ethical complexity of newborn screening, and why a genetic finding is not always a diagnosis. They explore privacy, disability, direct-to-consumer testing, gene therapy, and the difficult question at the center of all of it: just because we can know something, does that mean we know what to do with it? Along the way, Amitha shares how conditions such as Rett syndrome and spinal muscular atrophy are reshaping the future of pediatric care—and why access to treatment matters as much as the technology itself.  Chapters  00:00 Introducing Dr. Amitha Ananth  04:12 Gattaca, genetics, and the “designer baby” question  06:57 Why genetic testing is full of uncertainty  13:52 Exome vs. genome sequencing  16:51 Can AI solve genetics?  20:31 Rett syndrome and the challenge of prediction  26:17 Newborn screening: promise, limits, and policy  33:18 Autism, disability, and what society calls “normal”  39:31 Direct-to-consumer testing and genetic privacy  45:02 Access, affordability, and the ethics of early diagnosis  47:51 Gene therapy and the changing future of pediatric neurology  Connect with the Guest:  Amitha Ananth – https://providerdirectory.uabmedicine... Connect with the Hosts:  Abhishek Parmar -   /     Douglas Corey Campbell - https://x.com/yeroc2003