About the Roberts Individualized Medical Genetics Center (IMGC)

Our services

The mission of the Roberts IMGC, the first pediatric individualized genomic program in the country, remains the same: to facilitate access to state-of–the-art individualized genetic testing and management for children, families and clinicians, and to promote integration of clinical and genomic information into the diagnostic and research efforts at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

The Roberts Individualized Medical Genetics Center (Roberts IMGC) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) was established in 2014 to provide state-of-the-art, individualized clinical support to children and families undertaking genetic and genomic testing. With more than 2,100 patient encounters since we opened, the RIMGC has become a destination for patients and families from the region, the nation and around the world.

The Center provides interpretative and educational support to clinicians pursuing this testing for their patients. The program also makes this rich phenotypic and genomic information available to researchers, advancing CHOP’s mission and commitment to the future of genetic and individualized medicine. The Center was endowed through a generous gift by the Roberts family in 2016. That gift and matching funds from CHOP also established a broader Roberts Collaborative for Genetics and Individualized Medicine that will promote synergized pediatric genetics care and breakthrough research in diagnostics, clinical management, patient support and counseling, resident and medical student training, informatics, and therapeutics.

Since not every clinician is comfortable assisting families with or answering questions about the complex genetic testing process, the Roberts IMGC’s genetics professionals (genetic counselors and physicians) are available to recommend and explain a range of different genetic testing types and their implications for families.

We are thankful to the Roberts IMGC team as they went above and beyond to help our son. We are truly grateful”.

Your child’s experience

Once your referring clinician has recommended a consultation with the Roberts Individualized Medical Genetics Center, we will work with your family to schedule your first visit.

The genetic specialists in the Roberts IMGC will sit down with you to discuss the genetic testing recommended by your referring physician. We will gather essential information to help us come up with a testing plan that meets your child and family’s unique needs. This may include taking a blood sample, the most common approach for genetic testing. Less frequently, we might collect other tissue types such as skin cells or a cheek swab. All of the information we gather allows us to provide accurate and comprehensive genetic test result interpretation to you and your family.

Learn more about scheduling appointments and what to expect at your first visit. 

For more information or to refer a patient, call or email the Roberts IMGC team.


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