A lot of life happens in 99 years. Lois Jean Fenoglio is hoping that some of her 99 years (and counting!) of life experiences can help researchers better understand connections between DNA and health.
Fenoglio is participating in the OneDukeGen Genomic Sequencing Study and Biorepository. By providing a blood sample, Fenoglio’s DNA and other material will be analyzed and used in research related to a variety of diseases and conditions.
Aside from osteoporosis and some vision and hearing loss, Fenoglio is enjoying a healthy life. “I’m doing very well, which is kind of surprising at 99. I’m not taking any medication at all.”
Fenoglio is no stranger to science, either. She graduated with a degree in biology, but in a time before researchers knew what DNA was or its importance. “I just loved it, though,” she said. “I was the only girl at that school that ever got 100 in the microscopic work and in chemistry. I liked working with the instruments and being precise.”
For a time, Fenoglio worked in hospitals preparing blood slides and interpreting the results. She also received a master’s degree in education and worked at Motorola and General Electric before becoming a stay-at-home mom.
Interest in science runs deep in her family. Her husband was an engineer, as is her daughter. She has a granddaughter who works at North Carolina State University as a lab technician in a genetics lab and a grandson who initially went to school for engineering but is now pursuing a degree in chemistry.
Fenoglio decided to participate in OneDukeGen because of the promise it holds to help others. Aside from being a healthy 99-year-old, Fenoglio said, “I think I have interesting DNA.” Like her father, after her hair turned white, it started to turn back to black again. “My primary care doctor said nobody’s hair turns back again, she said, “but I have the same two white spots my dad had, and the rest of my hair is peppered black again.”
Her DNA, along with the thousands of other participants, will help researchers unlock more secrets about human health and disease.
About OneDukeGen
There is still a lot that we don’t understand about the connections between DNA and health. The more we study our DNA, the more we will learn what gene variants mean about us. As part of the Center for Precision Health within the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and in partnership with nference, a science-first software company, OneDukeGen will use genetics and precision medicine to make scientific discoveries focused on improving the health and well-being of Duke patients. The team aims to sequence the DNA of at least 150,000 Duke patients and research study participants. The more people who join, the better chance we have of finding new gene variants and understanding what the ones we already know about mean to our health.