ACMG announces 2026 Medical Genetics Awareness Week celebrating professionals “making a difference together”

The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) announced today that the eighth annual Medical Genetics Awareness Week, sponsored by MyOme, will be held March 10–14, 2026

2026-01-27

(Press-News.org) The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) announced today that the eighth annual Medical Genetics Awareness Week, sponsored by MyOme, will be held March 10–14, 2026, inviting the public, health professionals, patients, and policymakers to learn more about one of the most rapidly advancing and impactful fields in modern medicine.

Medical genetics plays a central role in today’s healthcare, guiding the diagnosis of rare diseases, informing cancer risk, shaping newborn screening, and enabling precision treatment options. Yet many people are unfamiliar with the professionals who make this work possible. Medical Genetics Awareness week aims to close that awareness gap.

This year’s theme, “Making a Difference Together,” celebrates the power of collaboration across the medical genetics workforce and highlights how each member of the genetics team contributes to earlier diagnoses, more precise management, prevention of disease, and improved outcomes for patients and families.

“Genomic medicine is transforming healthcare in ways that were unimaginable just a decade ago,” said ACMG President Mira B. Irons, MD, FACMG. “Medical Genetics Awareness Week is an opportunity to highlight the people behind this progress and to help patients, families, and other clinicians understand how medical genetics touches nearly every area of medicine.”

A Public Invitation to Join In: “What You May Not Know About My Job”
To help demystify the field and increase public understanding, ACMG is launching a new social media initiative during Medical Genetics Awareness Week to encourage medical genetics professionals to answer the question: “What You May Not Know About My Job.” Participants are encouraged to share short videos and posts on social media that highlight what their work really involves, from breakthroughs in the lab to clinical insights and everyday problem-solving.

Last year’s Medical Genetics Awareness Week generated over 3.6 million social media impressions, illustrating the public’s growing interest in genetics and genomic medicine.

Held in conjunction with the 2026 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting in Baltimore, MD, Medical Genetics Awareness Week will feature branded social media graphics, hashtags, and a range of activities designed to encourage participation. Follow the conversation by searching the #MedicalGeneticsAwareness hashtag and visit our Resource Toolkit for all the materials you need to join the celebration.

“The work of the medical genetics community deeply affects patients and families every day, yet many people still don’t fully understand the breadth of these professionals’ contributions,” said ACMG Interim Chief Executive Officer Melissa Forburger, CPA, CAE. “Medical Genetics Awareness Week helps bridge that gap by celebrating the expertise of this workforce and encouraging everyone to learn more about the role genetics plays in modern healthcare.”

Organizations or individuals interested in collaborating with ACMG can contact Barry Eisenberg, ACMG Communications Manager, at beisenberg@acmg.net. Visit the Medical Genetics Awareness Week webpages on acmg.net for downloadable resources and promotional materials.

When posting on social media, tag @TheACMG and use: #MedicalGeneticsAwareness

About Medical Genetics Awareness Week

Launched in 2019, Medical Genetics Awareness Week has become a global movement celebrating medical geneticists, clinical laboratory geneticists, genetic counselors, metabolic dietitians, physician assistants/associates, nurses, nurse practitioners, public health geneticists, and trainees. The week also serves to educate healthcare providers, students, policymakers, and the public about advances in genomic medicine and the value of early and accurate genetic diagnosis.

About the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and ACMG Foundation

Founded in 1991, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) is a prominent authority in the field of medical genetics and genomics and the only nationally recognized medical professional organization solely dedicated to improving health through the practice of medical genetics and genomics. The only medical specialty society in the US that represents the full spectrum of medical genetics disciplines in a single organization, the ACMG provides education, resources and a voice for more than 2,500 clinical and laboratory practice of medical genetics as well as through advocacy, education and clinical research, and to guide the safe and effective integration of genetics and genomics into all of medicine and healthcare, resulting in improved personal and public health. Genetics in Medicine and Genetics in Medicine Open, a gold open access journal, are the official ACMG journals. ACMG’s website, acmg.net, offers resources including policy statements, practice guidelines, and educational programs. The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine works to advance ACMG educational and public health programs through philanthropic gifts from corporations, foundations, and individuals.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New research connects heart attacks to brain, nervous and immune systems

2026-01-27

Arteries become clogged. Blood flow is restricted and oxygen is cut off. The result is a heart attack, the world’s leading cause of death. The conventional approach to studying and treating these episodes is to focus on the heart as an isolated organ. University of California San Diego research, led by the School of Biological Sciences, is upending the way heart attacks are viewed under a transformative new understanding of how cardiac events are interconnected with other systems. In a study ...

Researchers advance understanding of female sexual anatomy to improve pelvic cancer radiotherapy

2026-01-27

NEW YORK, (January 27, 2026) – Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in collaboration with other leading institutions across the country, have published an innovative study that provides radiation oncologists with practical guidance to identify and protect female sexual organs during pelvic cancer treatment. Published in the latest issue of Practical Radiation Oncology, this study addresses a long-standing gap in cancer care by bringing key female sexual anatomy into consideration during routine radiotherapy ...

MLEDGE project proves federated learning can support real-world AI services

2026-01-27

After two and a half years of work, the MLEDGE project (Cloud and Edge Machine Learning), led by Professor Nikolaos Laoutaris at IMDEA Networks, has demonstrated that it is possible to combine federated learning with cloud and edge computing infrastructures to develop artificial intelligence solutions that are more secure, efficient, and closer to end users. The project’s results have been translated into real-world applications in both the traditional and digital economy. Applications that make a difference The project has developed and tested concrete applications that clearly illustrate its impact. First, real-time COVID ...

Lab-grown organoids reveal how glioblastoma outsmarts treatment

2026-01-27

UCLA scientists have developed advanced miniature 3D tumor organoid models that make it possible to study glioblastoma tumors in a setting that closely mirrors the human brain, shedding light on how the aggressive cancer interacts with surrounding brain cells and the immune system to become more invasive and resistant to therapy. The organoid models, described in two complementary studies published in Cell Reports, are built from human stem cells and recreate the complex mix of cell types found in the human brain. This approach allows researchers to directly observe how patient-derived tumors communicate with healthy brain tissue, revealing ...

Insights from brain’s waste-flushing system may improve diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension

2026-01-27

A new study led by investigators from Mass General Brigham shows that a brain waste- “clean-up” system is influenced by intracranial pressure. The system, called the glymphatic system, was unrecognized until 2012 and helps circulate fluid and remove waste from the brain. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the research team found that changes in this fluid flow may help doctors better diagnose intracranial hypertension (IIH) less invasively and more reliably than with standard approaches currently ...

Tornado-forecast system can increase warning lead times, study finds

2026-01-27

LAWRENCE — Researchers at the University of Kansas have shown the National Severe Storms Laboratory’s Warn-on-Forecast System(WoFS) has potential to help weather forecasters issue warnings to emergency managers and the general public well before tornado formation. Their study appears in the peer-reviewed journal Weather and Forecasting. The current lead time on issuing tornado warnings is about 15 minutes. The difference could save lives and property across the Great Plains (the classic ...

Dario Fiore receives ERC Proof of Concept to develop the VERIFHE Project

2026-01-27

Dario Fiore, research professor at IMDEA Software, has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) grant by the European Research Council. This funding scheme is designed to help translate high-level scientific results into applications with social and industrial impact and is exclusively available to researchers who have previously led ERC-funded projects. The awarded project has a budget of €150,000 and a duration of 18 months, and will focus on one of the major challenges in digital technology today: ensuring both privacy and reliability in cloud-based machine learning services. The project, ...

Broadband ultrasonic imaging shows defects in all types of concrete

2026-01-27

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2026 — Concrete structures like roads and bridges require nondestructive testing methods to identify interior defects without destroying their structure. Most methods send sound waves into the material and capture the waves that echo back to create images of what’s inside and find defects. This process is similar to ultrasounds used to see inside the human body. But unlike human tissues, concrete contains a diversity of materials, including stone, clay, chalk, slate, iron ore, and sand, that scatter sound waves and make clear imaging difficult to obtain. In an article in Applied Physics ...

Discovery challenges long-held beliefs on early human technology in East Asia

2026-01-27

A newly excavated archaeological site in central China is reshaping long-held assumptions about early hominin behaviour in Eastern Asia. Led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an international team of researchers conducted archaeological excavations at Xigou, located in the Danjiangkou Reservoir Region in central China, uncovering evidence of advanced stone tool technologies dating back 160,000-72,000 years ago. The explorations, co-led by Griffith University, revealed hominins in this region were far more inventive and adaptable than previously believed, at a time when multiple large-brained ...

Medicaid expansion and overall mortality among women with breast cancer

2026-01-27

About The Study: The findings of this cohort study suggest that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act was associated with lower overall mortality among women ages 40 to 64 with breast cancer. Benefits were uneven, underscoring persistent racial and ethnic and socioeconomic disparities and the need for targeted interventions. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Chioma Ekwunazu, BS, email chioma.ekwunazu@bison.howard.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Physicists predict significant growth for cadmium telluride photovoltaics

Purdue team announces new therapeutic target for breast cancer

‘Nudging’ both patients and providers boosts flu vaccine numbers

How do nature and nurture shape our immune cells?

Speeding, hard braking reduced in insurance plans that base rates on driving behavior, offer rewards

Shared process underlies oral cancer pain and opioid tolerance

Claiming your business page on review platforms can have unintended effects on customer reviews, study shows

Inflammation and autoimmune-like dysfunction may play a role in heart failure

How too much of a good thing leads to neurodegenerative disease

UH psychologist explores reducing anxiety among survivors of sexual assault

Project seeks to develop retinal screening for Alzheimer’s

Mount Sinai study finds antibody-producing immune cells can help shape cancer immunotherapy