Feinstein Institutes awarded $2.9 million NIH funding for polygenic embryo selection studies Genetic testing and selection of embryos generated from in vitro fertilization (IVF) have given rise to the controversial “designer baby” debate. Recently, the use of a new technology called polygenic embryo selection (PES) has developed to identify the risk for complex diseases of adulthood. To further study the accuracy – and the ethics – of PES, researchers at The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research have been awarded a $2.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). Image Credit: Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research For decades, reproductive geneticists have been able to identify rare, serious genetic disorders like Down syndrome or cystic fibrosis prior to implantation of embryos in women undergoing IVF. But through PES, geneticists aim to evaluate embryos for more common diseases that may (or may not) emerge later in life, such as diabetes, schizophrenia or cancer. The four-year grant is led by the Feinstein Institutes’ Todd Lencz, PhD, in collaboration with Shai Carmi, PhD, of Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz, PhD, of Baylor College of Medicine.