Using Genetic Information to Help People Be Healthy at 100: Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe

Discovering your ancestry through a DNA saliva test is commonplace and very popular today, but when 23andMe started offering the service to consumers in 2007, it was breaking new ground. “We started 23andMe with this mentality of being an activist brand. I want to empower people with their own genome. Then I want to empower people to essentially come together and be the world's largest community that's driving research forward,” says Anne Wojcicki, Co-founder and CEO of the company. In the past 14 years, she’s largely achieved that founding vision with 11.6 million people using the product and 80% of those consenting to have their information used in research. And, as Wojcicki tells host Shiv Gaglani, a trove of research papers and a constant stream of new genetic information is allowing 23andMe to move into developing therapeutics. The ultimate goal? “I want people to be able to use their genetic information to change their behavior and live to be 100 without any chronically-managed disease,” she says. Don’t miss this revealing discussion from a pioneer in direct-to-consumer healthcare about the impact of digital health, eliminating hierarchy in healthcare and the role providers can play in battling the swamp of medical misinformation. Spoiler: it might involve them learning to dance. If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast