The Badger Baby Network program was launched in 2024 by University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Medical College of Wisconsin. The two medical schools train neonatologists at NICUs to identify babies that need genetic testing, determine which genomic test to order, and interpret the complex results.
Sometimes genetic professionals recommend testing for newborns if they aren’t responding as expected to medications, have different behaviors, or are born with a congenital disorder, said April Hall, genetic counselor and assistant professor of pediatrics at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine.