During her first year as a student at WashU Medicine, Erica Barnell, MD, PhD, met a patient whose story would change the course of her career. The 52-year-old woman, diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer, explained that she’d never been screened — she simply couldn’t take the time off work for a colonoscopy. Barnell recognized a critical gap: colonoscopy, while highly effective, is burdensome, requiring preparation and recovery time that many patients cannot easily manage. Determined to find a better way, she co-founded Geneoscopy in 2015 with her brother, Andrew Barnell…
