Genomics Creative Predictive Power in the Medical Field

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Bloomberg Businessweek
Episode Title: Genomics Creative Predictive Power in the Medical Field
Date: October 24, 2025
Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec
Guest: Dr. Wendy Chung, Chief of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, Mary Ellen Avery Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School

This episode dives into the transformative potential of genomics in healthcare, focusing on the predictive power of genetic information, the state of access and equity in the U.S., and advancements in gene-editing technologies. Dr. Wendy Chung shares her expertise and vision for a future in which genomic tools enable personalized, preventive, and more equitable healthcare, especially for children and rare disease patients.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Emergence of Genomics in Healthcare (01:49–03:16)

• Main Point: Recent studies highlight that a significant percentage of ICU patients carry genetic mutations relevant to their care, underscoring the powerful implications of genetic knowledge in medicine.
• Quote:
  “A quarter of adults under the age of 40 who had been admitted to the Penn Medicine ICU carried a mutation that would have been relevant to their treatment.”
  — Tim Stanovec (01:56)
• Genomic testing technology is rapidly evolving, becoming increasingly comprehensive and accessible.
• Quote:
  “Genetic testing, what becomes available changes so frequently. I mean, year to year, they can identify more and more.”
  — Carol Massar (02:22)

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2. The Promise and Challenges of Modern Genetics (03:16–04:26)

• Dr. Wendy Chung’s Perspective:
  “We have amazing opportunities, amazing opportunities specifically around genetics, both in terms of diagnostics, predicting and being able to tailor health and health prevention and health treatment...especially in the rare disease space.” (03:16)
• Technology and data are making it possible to deliver genetic insights faster, more accurately, and at scale.
• The U.S., however, lags in health outcomes due in part to inequitable access to emerging genetic technologies and care.

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3. Equity, Access, and the “K-Shaped” Healthcare Economy (04:26–05:36)

• Disparities in healthcare parallel economic inequality—the benefits of genomics could worsen or improve existing divides.
• Dr. Chung’s Vision: Universal newborn genome sequencing could allow earlier identification and intervention for treatable conditions, reducing the “diagnostic odyssey” that many families endure.
• Quote:
  “Can we think about blowing that up in a good way by being able to do genome sequencing to identify all the treatable conditions so that everyone gets access to this?...make sure that diagnostic odyssey doesn't go on for very long to start the treatment?”
  — Dr. Wendy Chung (04:45)

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4. Is Universal Genomic Screening Feasible? (05:36–06:36)

• The main barriers are economic—current costs (~$1,000 per newborn) are prohibitive for widespread adoption, but technological advancements and economies of scale could drive prices down.
• Quote:
  “Let’s just say it costs $1,000 per baby...if we can drive down the cost by 50%, 75%, I do think if you look at the health economics in terms of the return on investment, it easily pays for itself over a 10 year period.”
  — Dr. Wendy Chung (06:06)

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5. Gene Editing: From Research to Reality (06:36–07:45)

• Technologies like CRISPR are advancing, particularly for single-gene conditions, although not yet routine for all disorders.
• Regulatory agencies are starting to see the value in platform approaches—leveraging successful treatments for one disease category across others.
• Quote:
  “We are getting towards those platforms to be able to do this...for the 7,000 rare diseases, I don't think we have to solve the problem 7,000 times. I think it's going to come to a much simpler number of solutions.”
  — Dr. Wendy Chung (07:00)

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6. Children’s Health: Making This “The Decade of the Kids” (07:45–09:08)

• Genomic screening can inform not just rare disease detection but unlock insights on learning disabilities, diabetes, asthma, cancer risk, and more.
• The promise is a tailored approach—custom surveillance, interventions, and resource allocation for each child.
• Quote:
  “It’s not a one size fits all for everyone. You really get more out of the energy and the money you’re putting into it because it’s tailored for the person.”
  — Dr. Wendy Chung (08:15)
• Using both biomarkers and genetic data, providers can better predict and manage disease progression.

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7. The Next Frontier: AI and Quantum Computing (09:08–09:34)

• Tim Stanovec closes by acknowledging that the rise of AI and quantum computing will further revolutionize predictive medicine, urging Dr. Chung to return for future discussions.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Scaling Newborn Genomic Screening:
  “If we can drive down the cost by 50%, 75%, I do think...the return on investment, it easily pays for itself over a 10 year period.”
  — Dr. Wendy Chung (06:06)

• On Platform Solutions for Rare Diseases:
  “For the 7,000 rare diseases, I don’t think we have to solve the problem 7,000 times. I think it’s going to come to a much simpler number of solutions.”
  — Dr. Wendy Chung (07:00)

• On Personalized Surveillance:
  “How do you tailor their surveillance?... because it’s tailored for the person.”
  — Dr. Wendy Chung (08:15)

• Looking Forward:
  “Emerging technologies, whether it's artificial intelligence or quantum computing...are going to be very important metrics when it comes to disease predictability.”
  — Tim Stanovec (09:08)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------|------------| | Intro to Genomics in Medical Field | 01:49–03:16| | The Equity Gap in U.S. Health Outcomes | 03:42–04:26| | Universal Genomic Newborn Screening Vision | 04:45–05:36| | Barriers to Widespread Screening | 05:36–06:36| | Gene Editing and Future of Rare Diseases | 06:36–07:45| | Personalized Medicine for Children | 07:45–09:08| | The Role of AI & Quantum in Next-gen Medicine | 09:08–09:34|

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Conclusion

This episode spotlights the explosive growth and future promise of genomics in revolutionizing health care, while placing equity and access at the heart of the discussion. Dr. Wendy Chung emphasizes that with falling costs, regulatory innovation, and smarter data tools, precision medicine can become a norm—especially for the youngest and most vulnerable—and that, with continued technological progress, we are on the cusp of the “decade of the kids.”

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For anyone interested in the transformative power of genetics and the future of healthcare delivery, this episode captures both the exhilarating possibilities and the urgent challenges that lie ahead.

Transcript

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[Carol Massar]

You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Massar and Tim Stanovec on Bloomberg Radio.

[Tim Stanovec]

Over the summer, a Bloomberg opinion piece pointed out that new research shows Americans need greater access to genetic testing and stronger legal protections against genetic discrimination, according to a recent study that was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. Now, the study of DNA samples from the Penn Medicine Biobank found that a quarter of adults under the age of 40 who had been admitted to the Penn Medicine ICU carried a mutation that would have been relevant to their treatment. So it's just talking about the importance of understanding your genetics and what it could mean for health care and that.

[Carol Massar]

Genetic testing, what becomes available changes so frequently. I mean, year to year, they can identify more and more.

[Tim Stanovec]

Yeah, exactly. And our next guest has a vast body of work when it comes to the field of genetics. Let's get to our weekly Business Week Women's Health segment, where we focus on key issues and developing technologies impacting the present and future of women's health around the world. And in many ways, everybody's health around the world. Joining us right now is Dr. Wendy Chung, Chief of Pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital. She is the Mary Ellen Avery professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and she joins us from London where it's a little bit later. So thank you so much, Dr. Chung, for joining us. You have spent more than two decades as a clinical and molecular geneticist and have directed many NIH funded research programs. Got to ask, are we at a good time for health care advantage advancements, excuse me. Or are we possibly going backwards?

[Dr. Wendy Chung]

We have amazing opportunities, amazing opportunities specifically around genetics, both in terms of diagnostics, predicting and being able to tailor health and health prevention and health treatment based on that and new things in terms of therapeutics, especially in the rare disease space. So it couldn't be a more exciting time in terms of the ability to scale this, to use data, to do it more accurately and to get it to more people where they're at it.

[Carol Massar]

It sounds exciting and the opportunities sound exciting. But we're at a point with the United States where we don't have great outcomes compared to the rest of the world. We lag when it comes to other countries and their health outcomes. Why is that from your view?

[Dr. Wendy Chung]

In many cases it's due to access. And as we think about this, we're trying to think of ways that we can provide care anywhere. So are there ways to think about how do we get access to patients where they in ways that can fit in with their lives and get them really news they can use is the way I think about it when they can use it just in time to be able to do it, ingest it, understand it and apply it in ways that really fit in with their life. We have amazing opportunities, but we don't do them equitably for everyone.

[Tim Stanovec]

Well, you know, Dr. Chung, Tim and I spend so much time talking about the K shaped economy, right. And that on an economic level, not everybody benefits from the US Economy even in good times. So that obviously carries over to health care. If you could change one thing, what would it be that would make health care more equitable?

[Dr. Wendy Chung]

So if you can imagine this future state, I've been running a study in New York City called Guardian Genomic Uniform Screening against Rare Diseases in all Newborns for a baby when they get their heel prick right after birth, to be able to screen for disorders that are treatable and curable, things like phenylketonuria. Now can we think about blowing that up in a good way by being able to do genome sequencing to Identify all the treatable conditions so that everyone gets access to this. And for those same children, if they get sick and have symptoms at some point in the future, reinterrogate that genomic information to make the diagnosis essentially instantaneously. So if they're having breathing problems, growing problems, problems with developments not hitting their milestones, can you get the diagnosis very, very quickly to start the journey and make sure that diagnostic odyssey doesn't go on for very long to start the treatment?

[Tim Stanovec]

All right, logical question or follow up, why don't we do that? Is it just too expensive or what? You know, it's funny, I was talking to an individual who is from South Korea or has family back in South Korea and says, you know, every year you can go and you can get a body scan head to toe, not crazy expensive like it would be here in the United States and you can get potentially early signs of something that's, that's not good. So I'm just wondering, when it comes to, why don't we do these genetic testing, is it not available? Is it too expensive?

[Dr. Wendy Chung]

So it is being done on a research basis on a very small number of newborns right now. But I'll throw down the gauntlet. I think we can drive down the price of doing, being able to do this right now. Let's just say it costs $1,000 per baby to be able to do this. That's probably not something that we can scale at 3.6 million babies born each year. But if we can drive down the cost by 50%, 75%, I do think if you look at the health economics in terms of the return on investment, it easily pays for itself over a 10 year period.

[Carol Massar]

What about when it comes to using that data for technology such as gene editing? We spoke to Jennifer Doudna, the 2020 Nobel laureate, a few months ago at our Bloomberg Technology Conference, San Francisco. She was very optimistic that we will see this happening more and more in humans. Will this become just the standard of care, in your view, for kids who have genetic disorders?

[Dr. Wendy Chung]

So I do think for these single gene conditions, platform technologies such as what Dr. Doudna and others have developed, they're not quite ready for prime time to just dial in any particular genetic edit and fix it. But we are getting towards those platforms to be able to do this. And I do think that over the next decade we're going to make tremendous drive. And I do think from a regulatory point of view, the FDA and other regulatory agencies understand that within rare diseases you need to think about platforms and being able to use information for one rare disease in terms of treatments for others and to understand the safety profile and use that across conditions. And so for the 7,000 rare diseases, I don't think we have to solve the problem 7,000 times. I think it's going to come to a much simpler number of solutions.

[Tim Stanovec]

Hey, one thing we wanted to ask you about a recent article in Nature. You were quoted that Maha's spotlight on children's health is welcome and that this could be the decade of the kids. And that would be an amazing thing. How so? Especially when we see an administration, a secretary of hhs, pushing back on things like vaccines and other policies that research has showed has definitely improved health in the United States.

[Dr. Wendy Chung]

So I think if you think about the technology that I talked about with newborn screening, it can be applied to any number of things for children. So that again, if you know where the pain points are, if you know what the susceptibilities, you can think about everything from how a child can learn better if they're going to have certain challenges in terms of understanding, learning behavior, how to be able to tailor things to them if they're going to have problems in terms of a tendency towards type 1 diabetes, asthma, even cancer in the future. How do you tailor their surveillance? The particular things we monitor, how frequently we monitor. So it's not a one size fits all for everyone. You really get more out of the energy and the money you're putting into it because it's tailored for the person. And I do think both in terms of being able to have biomarkers looking at disease progression and genomics to guide you, we can do much better because we have enough data now to be able to understand those patterns and profiles.

[Tim Stanovec]

We've run out of time, but hopefully come back real soon because I know emerging technologies, whether it's artificial intelligence or quantum computing, which all of a sudden this week we're talking a lot, are going to be very important metrics when it comes to disease predictability. So please, please come back really soon. Dr. Wendy Chung, Chief of Pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital. She is the Mary Ellen Avery professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and she is joining us from London.

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