Rare Disease Stories
Families, advocates, researchers, and clinicians working to change the future of rare disease.
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Where rare disease, genetic medicine, and AI meet.
GENEration Hope is a documentary, interview, and explainer platform following the people, science, and technologies changing what is possible for rare disease families - from gene therapy and RNA medicine to AI-driven drug discovery, newborn genome sequencing, and the future of care.
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Dr. Guoping Feng (MIT) on SHANK3 Gene Therapy, Brain Disorders, and What’s Coming Next
Four ways into the story
Rare disease families are watching several revolutions arrive at once. GENEration Hope connects the human story with the science changing the horizon.
Genetic Medicines
Gene therapy, ASOs, RNA therapies, exon skipping, base editing, prime editing, and other treatment platforms.
AI + Medicine
How AI is accelerating discovery, diagnosis, trial design, manufacturing, and our understanding of biology.
Future of Care
How the AI era could reshape caregiving, disability support, education, employment, and human-centred work.
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The newest full interview from YouTube
Interview
Phelan-McDermidSHANK3Gene Therapy
Dr. Guoping Feng (MIT) on SHANK3 Gene Therapy, Brain Disorders, and What’s Coming Next
Dr. Guoping Feng
Welcome — I’m Ron Kleiman, and this is GENEration Hope. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Guoping Feng, Professor of Neuroscience at MIT, affiliated with the McGovern Institute, the Yang Tan Collective, and the Broad Institute. 
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Featured AI + Medicine
What AI Drug Discovery Could Mean for Rare Disease Families
AI drug discovery is entering a new phase: not just better software, but a new industrial stack linking frontier models, pharma data, robotics, and real experiments. GENEration Hope follows how those breakthroughs may intersect with rare disease.
Explore AI + MedicineAI + Rare Disease
What AI Drug Discovery Could Mean for Rare Disease Families
AI drug discovery is entering a new phase: not just better software, but a new industrial stack linking frontier models, pharma data, robotics, and real experiments.
Why it matters: Rare disease research often starts with small datasets, limited funding, urgent timelines, and difficult trial design. AI-linked discovery systems could help researchers generate stronger candidates and better experiments faster, but families should watch for clinical validation, access, manufacturing, and clear evidence rather than hype.
AI + Rare DiseaseAI Drug DiscoveryAutonomous Labs
Source: GENEration Hope editorial analysis
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Signals worth following
Newborn Screening
Why Newborn Genome Screening Could Change Everything
Newborn genome sequencing could move rare disease diagnosis closer to birth, but the promise only matters if health systems can provide consent, follow-up, privacy, and care.
Why it matters: Earlier answers could help families avoid years of uncertainty, but systems need thoughtful consent, follow-up, and equity.
Newborn ScreeningNewborn SequencingGenomics
Source: GENEration Hope editorial analysis
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How AI Could Change Clinical Trials for Ultra-Rare Disorders
Ultra-rare trials are often small, fragile, and difficult to interpret. AI may help researchers design studies that are more realistic without lowering the bar for evidence.
Why it matters: Ultra-rare trials need rigorous design even when traditional large studies are difficult or impossible.
Trial UpdatesClinical TrialsDigital Twins
Source: GENEration Hope editorial analysis
ReadAI + Rare Disease
Could AI Help Solve the Rare Disease Diagnosis Odyssey?
AI may help shorten the diagnostic odyssey, but only if it strengthens clinical judgment instead of adding another opaque layer to an already exhausting process.
Why it matters: Shortening the time to diagnosis can change care planning, research participation, and access to support.
AI + Rare DiseaseDiagnosisGenomics
Source: GENEration Hope editorial analysis
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Plain-English guides to complex science
Genetic Medicine
What Is Gene Therapy?
Gene therapy is a treatment approach that tries to address disease at the level of the gene, often by adding, replacing, silencing, or editing genetic instructions.
Gene TherapyAAVRare Disease
Genetic Medicine
What Is ASO Therapy?
ASO therapy uses short pieces of synthetic genetic material to change how RNA is read, processed, or reduced inside cells.
ASORNA Therapy
Genetic Medicine
Gene Therapy vs ASO Therapy
Gene therapy and ASO therapy both work near the genetic root of disease, but they use different tools, timelines, and risk tradeoffs.
Gene TherapyASORNA Therapy
Genetic Medicine
What Is Exon Skipping?
Exon skipping is a strategy that asks the cell to leave out a specific piece of RNA so it can make a shorter but potentially useful protein.
RNA TherapyDMD
Genetic Medicine
What Is a Vector?
A vector is a delivery vehicle used to carry a therapeutic payload into cells, often in gene therapy.
AAVDeliveryGene Therapy
Rare Diseases
What Is Haploinsufficiency?
Haploinsufficiency means one working copy of a gene is not enough for the body to make the amount of protein it needs.
GeneticsLoss of FunctionRare Disease
Future of Care
Could technology make more room for human care?
As AI changes the economy, GENEration Hope also asks a bigger question: could some of the productivity unlocked by technology be redirected toward deeply human work - caring, supporting, teaching, mentoring, and building better lives for people with disabilities?
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Care revolution