#210 Reproductive Medicine Family History with Tristan Hardy

DNA Today: A Genetics Podcast

After two years of virtual NSGC conferences, I can’t wait to see many of you in Nashville next week! Say “hi” if you see me! If you want to be featured in our NSGC recap episodes, let me know. I would love to capture your impression of the conference to feature on the episode. Maybe you will get DNA Today merch in exchange… I will be spending a lot of time in the exhibit hall, so look for me there.

As some of you may know our host, Kira Dineen, is a prenatal genetic counselor! Today’s episode topic is something that she talks about every day, family history in reproductive medicine! Joining us for this discussion is Dr. Tristan Hardy who is a dual-trained obstetrician/gynecologist and genetic pathologist with a particular focus on reproductive genetics.

Tristan Hardy is a Consultant Gynecologist at Repromed and the Medical Director of Genetics at The Monash IVF Group, both in Australia! Dr Hardy completed his medical degree at the University of New South Wales and undertook specialty training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide. Alongside specialist training, he completed a Masters in Reproductive Medicine and a PhD focussing on new methods of Preimplantation Genetic Testing. Following completion of training in Obstetrics and Gynecology, he undertook a fellowship in genetic pathology at SA Pathology. He is Australia’s only dual-qualified Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Genetic Pathologist.

Dr. Hardy’s special interest is in helping couples who are planning genetic testing of their embryos, due to genetic conditions identified in previous pregnancies or on carrier screening. He runs a joint clinic with Dr. Jan Liebelt (Clinical Geneticist) to provide comprehensive care of couples undergoing IVF with Preimplantation Genetic Testing. Dr Hardy is experienced in all aspects of fertility management and performs clinical procedures including oocyte retrievals, embryo transfers and IUIs.

On This Episode We Discuss:

When family history is relevant to reproductive health

General trends for people to keep in mind (early onset conditions, birth defects/differences, stillbirths/infant deaths, genetic disorders)

What family health history information patients should try to gather prior to meeting with a reproductive healthcare specialist

What people pursuing IVF/IUI using a donor egg/sperm should pay attention to in the donor profile

Why having a family history of early menopause (early 40s) can increase the risk of having fragile X carriers in the family

What type of genetic testing people that have had multiple miscarriages or infertility or their personal or family medical history

Why it’s important for every patient to be offered carrier screening regardless of ancestry and family health history

How digital pedigrees are aiding patient care

Digital pedigree builder (like Trakgene) and its use in the IVF/IUI setting

Don’t forget to enter our giveaway to win a lifetime TrakGene license for their pedigree software (worth $1,000/year)! TrakGene is also giving away 10 copies of “The Patient Will See You Now” By Eric Topol. Enter on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. All of our listeners can receive a free, 12-month TrakGene software trial by using the code “DNAToday”.

Here is an article about “Mackenzie’s Mission”, a research project in which 10,000 couples undergo screening, that Dr. Hardy mentioned during the interview.

To learn more about TrakGene, the pedigree drawing tool and clinical genetics database software company that we discussed in this episode, you can head to their website or follow them on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube!

Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on November 18th, 2022! New episodes are released on Fridays. In the meantime, you can binge over 205 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”. Episodes since 2021 are also recorded with video which you can watch on our YouTube channel.

DNA Today is hosted and produced by Kira Dineen. Our social media lead is Corinne Merlino. Our video lead is Amanda Andreoli. Our outreach Intern is Sanya Tinaikar. Our Social Media Intern is Kajal Patel. And our Graphic Designer Ashlyn Enokian.

See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNApodcast.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to [e-mail].

Are you a genetic counselor or genetic counseling student? Want to enter to win a $100 Amazon gift card? Participate in a quick survey this November to capture your insight on clinical trials. The goal of this study is to assess if, how, and when genetic counselors discuss clinical trials within their practice and document their process. Also the researchers will look to define a framework for current genetic counselors to incorporate clinical trials in their own practice. It took me about 15 minutes to fill it out. Link to the survey is in the show notes and in the blog post for this episode at DNAtoday.com. The principal investigator, Derek Ansel’s email is [e-mail], feel free to reach out with questions.