AS FLORIDA LAUNCHES NEWBORN GENETIC SCREENING PROGRAM, FSU INSTITUTE LEADS STATEWIDE EFFORT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., July 10 -- Florida State University issued the following news release:

This summer, Florida families will have the opportunity toenrolltheir newborns in a new genetic screening initiative designed to identify hundreds of rare genetic diseases before symptoms appear.

At the center of the effort is theFlorida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases (Florida IPRD) at Florida State University, which the Sunshine Genetics Act designated to lead and coordinate the statewide program.

The program, known asSunshine Genetics, aims to shorten what rare disease experts call the"diagnostic odyssey"byidentifyinggenetic conditions shortly after birth rather than years later, when symptoms may already have caused irreversible damage.

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