# Virtual Platforms for Genetics Evaluation in the Medically Underserved

> **NIH NIH UH3** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $465,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
Disparate access to genetic services among ethnic minorities and those with low socioeconomic
status has marginalized the most vulnerable populations, particularly children with rare
diseases. About one-third of children with rare diseases die before they reach their fifth birthday.
There are significant inequalities in genetic services that children currently receive along the
Texas-Mexican border in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) where many of the citizens are
underserved and uninsured. While genomic information to improve health outcomes is being
integrated in clinical practice elsewhere in the country, significant barriers exist in this
impoverished and medically underresourced region of Texas that prevent delivery of essential
genetics evaluation. Prioritizing equity and inclusion in health care, we propose to implement
one of the first academic web-based virtual clinics called Consultagene in the underresourced
regions of Texas to provide clinical evaluation of pediatric rare diseases through front-line
clinics. A multidisciplinary team at University of Texas Health Rio Grande Valley clinic and
Baylor College of Medicine will clinically evaluate 100 ‘hard to diagnose’ children with rare
diseases, with goals of accelerating access to care and intervention. Genome sequencing (GS)
will be completed as a first-line test to deliver rapid diagnoses and reduce the time to diagnosis
for clinical decision-making. We will also build genomic competency of front-line healthcare
providers through use of facial recognition technology and education to expedite referral of
pediatric patients with suspected rare diseases. If successfully modeled at the primary partner
site (UG3 phase), the strategy will be implemented at Texas Tech University Health Sciences
Center (TTUHSC) in El Paso, along the US-Mexico border (UH3 phase). Our ultimate goal is to
advance genetics evaluation of pediatric rare diseases in remote marginalized areas of Texas
for improving health outcomes and providing avenues for targeted intervention.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10915198
- **Project number:** 4UH3TR004047-03
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Seema R Lalani
- **Activity code:** UH3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $465,000
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2022-02-01 → 2027-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10915198

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10915198, Virtual Platforms for Genetics Evaluation in the Medically Underserved (4UH3TR004047-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10915198. Licensed CC0.

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