Smart Genetics Announces Plans to Launch a New Alzheimer's Risk Assessment Service

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Smart Genetics today announced the planned launch of a new Alzheimer's risk assessment service with the appointment of a medical advisory board and a service agreement with one of the leading laboratory testing companies in the world.

"Our mission at Smart Genetics is to provide people with accurate information about their genetic risk, help them understand and interpret their risk and assist them in using this information to live a better life," said Julian Awad, Co-Founder and CEO. "Our Medical Advisory Board has been instrumental in the development of our new service, which will help healthy people determine their risk of developing late onset Alzheimer's."

Key Advisers

The Smart Genetics Alzheimer's Advisory Board comprises several leading authorities in Alzheimer's disease, genetic testing and genetic counseling. The board members are:

-- Norman Relkin, M.D., Ph.D., a board-certified neurologist who graduated from Yale College and received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Relkin has been a physician at the New York Presbyterian Hospital - Weill Cornell Medical Center since 1987 and director of the Cornell Memory Disorders Program since 1993. He is internationally recognized for his work on Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.

-- Lindsay Farrer, Ph.D., a medical geneticist at Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, where he serves as chief of the genetics program, director of the epidemiology center and as a professor of medicine, neurology, genetics and genomics, epidemiology and biostatistics.

-- W. Andrew Faucett, M.S.,C.G.C., a faculty member in the Department of Human Genetics at a major university's School of Medicine, CET program coordinator for the NIH Office of Rare Diseases, and has an Interagency Professional Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work on genetic testing issues.

-- Howard McLeod, Pharm. D, a Fred N. Eshelman Distinguished Professor and director of the University of North Carolina Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy. Dr. McLeod is a member of the Food and Drug Administration Subcommittee on Clinical Pharmacology.

-- Paul David Nussbaum, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist who specializes in aging across the lifespan and brain health. With a home base in Pittsburgh, Pa. Dr. Nussbaum maintains an Adjunct Associate Professorship in Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He provides national and international lectures on the human brain, brain-behavior relations, diseases of the brain and brain health promotion.

"We are pleased to have such a distinguished group of medical advisers assisting us on our new Alzheimer's service. Their insight and counsel are critical to our ability to offer our new genetic risk assessment service in a thoughtful, responsible way to the public," said Awad.

Genetic Testing Services

In addition to the advisory board, Smart Genetics has announced an agreement with Athena Diagnostics, of Worcester, Massachusetts, to provide genetic testing services as part of its new Alzheimer's service. Athena Diagnostics is a reference laboratory dedicated to the development and commercialization of diagnostic testing for neurological disorders. Using innovative technologies, Athena provides neurologists and other physicians with diagnostic answers that can improve the quality of health care for patients in a cost effective manner. Athena Diagnostics is a specialty brand of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. .

About Smart Genetics

Smart Genetics is a two-year-old, Philadelphia-based company that provides genetic testing and genetic counseling services. The company was co-founded by Julian Awad, Chief Executive Officer, and Richard Watson, Chief Technical Officer. For more information, visit http://www.smartgenetics.com/.