As federal policymakers weigh potential changes to how biomedical research is funded and regulated in the United States, a Virginia Tech scientist highlights the importance of preserving the nation’s ability to turn discovery into life‑saving therapies.

Routine newborn screening (NBS) has transformed early disease detection. However, traditional biochemical tests limit the range of conditions that can be identified at birth. Next-generation sequencing is being explored as a complementary screening tool. A review published in Pediatric Investigation examines how next-generation sequencing could expand NBS from single-disease assays to genome-enabled, multi-disease screening approaches.