EP 229: Turning personal tragedy into a movement for preventive genetics with Matthew Goldstein

This week on The Genetics Podcast, Patrick is joined by Dr. Matthew Goldstein, CEO of jscreen. They discuss his journey from physician-scientist and biotech founder to leading a national nonprofit focused on preventive genetic screening, how a personal tragedy reshaped his mission around carrier screening and access, and what it will take to close the gap between the promise of genomics and its real-world implementation in healthcare. Show Notes: 0:00 Intro to The Genetics Podcast 01:00 Welcome to Matthew 01:44 Matthew’s path from an MD-PhD to founding a personalized cancer vaccine biotech 10:00 From personal tragedy to leading jscreen to expand access to reproductive carrier screening 18:56 Purpose, grief, and how Matthew has led jscreen in honor of his daughter 22:45 The implementation gap between genomic potential and real-world preventive screening 25:51 Nonprofit models, reimbursement barriers, and building sustainable access to preventive genetic screening 31:00 Lessons from the Jewish community’s experience with Tay-Sachs and gaps in understanding 36:10 Preconception carrier screening and the role of community in preventive health 41:20 Closing remarks