Aspiring that it will be setting a new milestone on its successful path, the Henry Dunant Hospital Center has created and operates a Clinical Genetics & Genetic Counselling Clinic (GEN-c), under the direction of Dr. Constantine Stratakis, an internationally renowned Professor of Endocrinology and Medical Genetics.       

The creation of the new clinic is part of the overall plan to strengthen the high-quality health services provided by the Henry Dunant Hospital Center, while expanding its role in the field of innovation and research, under the guidance of one of the most distinguished and pioneering Greek professors of Medicine.

With a long tenure at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and until recently Scientific Director and Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Genetics at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in the United States, Professor Constantine Stratakis has been a key contributor to the evolution of Genetic Medicine. Over the course of three decades (1993-2021), Dr. Stratakis at NICHD discovered diseases (for example the Carney-Stratakis and X-LAG giantism syndromes), genes and new therapies, receiving a number of awards and distinctions for his work, and training dozens of now renowned paediatricians, endocrinologists and geneticists from all over the world.

The key objectives of this pioneering Clinic are:

1. To help in the diagnostic investigation of potentially genetically determined diseases treated in the hospital. For example, in a patient with multiple intestinal polyps - the possible genetic involvement in the predisposition can be investigated both clinically (an examination by a geneticist may reveal undetected symptoms of a syndrome), but also with targeted molecular tests.
2. To enable the genetic analysis for diseases that are not necessarily genetic, but where patients’ tissues and diseases are affected by genetic (and epigenetic) changes, with particular reference to oncology (breast, prostate, etc.) and elsewhere, where specific molecular changes are important for treatment selection and prognosis.
3. To coordinate the molecular laboratory investigation for a number of diseases where genetic testing is currently necessary both for their complete control and their prognosis (for example, what it means to have very low HDL) and of course for pharmacogenetics, etc.
4. To provide genetic counselling to patients and their families. Today, there is a great need for providing knowledge and support to patients with genetic changes.
5. Through GEN-c, the clinicians who seek answers to genetic issues will be able to interact, and the Clinic could also lead to research activities and connections with academic centres in Greece and abroad.

“Genetic Medicine is now an integral part of the new Medicine, as it is a large part of prevention in Healthcare; it is increasingly expanding into modern diagnostics–as its applications are expanding into therapeutics, from new methods of gene therapy to designing new vaccines, etc. I have accepted the invitation to organize and direct the new clinic, confident that the Henry Dunant will play a leading role in a path leading to the medicine of the future,” stated Dr. Stratakis at the opening of the new clinic.

“Having completed 20 years of operation, we, in Henry Dunant have proven that we know how to win tough bets. The Clinical Genetics & Genetic Counselling Clinic will take us on new paths. We welcome Professor Constantine Stratakis to the family of Henry Dunant, and we are certain that with his help, we will be able to successfully meet the new challenges”, stressed the President and CEO of the Henry Dunant Hospital Center, Mr. Themos Charamis.