MD · MBA
Physician specializing in genetic analysis and personalized preventive medicine, and author of Outsmart Your Genes.
Brandon Colby is a physician-expert in the fields of genetic analysis and Personalized Preventive Medicine. He holds an MD from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, an MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, and a degree in Genetics from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Colby is the author of the book Outsmart Your Genes and has developed numerous technologies that improve the analysis, interpretation, and actionability of genome sequencing data. He is an Affiliate Specialist of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), an Associate of the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM), and a member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC).
Articles by Brandon Colby, MD are reviewed for accuracy by Sequencing's medical and scientific team. This page is for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
HMBS mutations leave hydroxymethylbilane synthase in short supply, so porphyrin precursors accumulate and attacks can follow certain medications, alcohol or fasting.
Breathing can stop while a patient recovers from anesthesia. Variation in HTR3B and ABCB1 alters sleep response to morphine in obstructive sleep apnea.
A disc-shaped opacity at the back of the lens can impair vision from birth. This cataract is often autosomal dominant, with PITX3, CRYAB and CRYGD mutations reported.
Narrowed heart arteries before age 45 signal premature coronary artery atherosclerosis; blood tests, coronary angiography and genetic testing of relatives are explained.
Bleeding into the brain ventricles of premature infants clusters in families, twin research suggests; IVH diagnosis, amniotic fluid markers and genetic risk are covered.
A mutation in OTOF reported in an Omani family is one genetic cause of severe hearing loss; clinical assessment, prenatal testing and counseling are covered.
More than one gene can be involved: TK2, OPA1 and POLG2 all sit behind the multiple mtDNA deletions in this form, and testing informs recurrence risk.
Head size that keeps falling behind as a child grows is assessed with MRI or CT; SLC1A4 variants reported in Pakistani siblings show why DNA testing matters.