Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/922733
19 Executive Briefing Sponsored by: T he growing deluge of personal genetic information has enormous value as a tool for research — even more so if gene mapping tools and information can be made accessible to non-biologists and applied in everyday life. That is the central goal of the partnership between Mi- crosoft and Sequencing.com, a platform that allows us- ers to store, analyze and share their genetic information. Simply put, the platform enables individuals to upload their genetic information — generated via Helix, 23and- Me, Veritas, Ancestry.com, National Geographic, HLI or any other source — to Sequencing.com and use their personal information in health and wellness powered by Microsoft's cloud. Hosting genetic information in a central, accessible re- pository is integral to advancing genetic research. How- ever, it is only half the battle when it comes to democra- tizing precision medicine, as the complexity of this data renders it useful only to biologists or bioinformaticists. To bridge this knowledge gap, Microsoft is helping arm developers with software to design genetics-based apps without having to understand genomics. Becker's Hospital Review caught up with Geralyn Miller, director of genomics in Microsoft's artificial intelligence and research division, to discuss Microsoft's inroads in genomics and programming. Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for style and clarity. Question: Recently Microsoft partnered with Sequencing.com to further research regarding technology, genomics and precision medicine. Can you talk about real time personalization technology and the opportunity for real-time personalization application programming interface, or +RTP API, in user apps and population health? Geralyn Miller: Providing an exceptional healthcare experience starts with enhancing the personal experience. Apps powered by Real-Time Personalization® (+RTP) API can utilize genetic information to provide personalized, real-time insights and guidance to app users. The +RTP API makes genetic-based information incredibly easy to work with and understand. It lowers the barrier to entry for app developers to be able to use genetic data. The +RTP technology enables mainstream mobile app developers with no experience in genetics to be successful creating lifestyle, wellness and fitness apps that incorporate genetic data. Examples of the types of apps being built using +RTP technology include weight optimization, sleep optimization, diabetes prevention, heart health, childhood fitness, childhood education, healthy baby, cognition and brain health, and longevity, among others. Q: Genetic data is extremely sensitive. How do Sequencing.com and Microsoft make precision and gene mapping tools both available and secure? GM: Sequencing.com relies on the security and compliance of the Microsoft cloud to store data and process information. Short-term storage, including genetic data files and the results from processing and Bridging the Knowledge Gap: 4 Questions with Microsoft's Geralyn Miller on Designing Genetics-Based Apps "The +RTP technology enables mainstream mobile app developers with no experience in genetics to be successful creating lifestyle, wellness and fitness apps that incorporate genetic data." − Geralyn Miller, Director of Microsoft Genomics, AI and Research Division