Who We Are
Early Check is a platform to support newborn screening pilot studies.
The study is led by well-known research institutions across the state.
Our Story
Early Check is led by RTI International, an independent nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. RTI's headquarters are in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
Early Check grew from RTI’s research on newborn screening and focus on improving the lives of individuals and families with special healthcare needs. Shortly after birth, most babies in the United States go through a series of tests, called newborn screening. The tests help doctors act quickly to help babies with treatable rare health conditions that might otherwise go unnoticed and could be deadly.
In 2018, Early Check began offering additional free elective screening for newborns for conditions not part of standard newborn screening. In partnership with the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Early Check began by screening for a small panel of genetic conditions, including fragile X syndrome and fragile X premutation, spinal muscular atrophy, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular conditions, using the same dried blood spot taken during standard newborn screening. In 2023, Early Check expanded to offering screening for over 200 conditions using genome sequencing. Early Check screened for some of the same conditions as standard newborn screening plus many more and assesses a newborn’s lifetime risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Over time, as we learned more about conditions, the conditions tested by Early Check changed.
Our team at RTI brings a range of expertise to newborn screening, including medical genetics, laboratory testing, genetic counseling, health communication, public health, informed decision making, ethics, family adaptation, special education, and child assessment.
Legacy laboratory partners:
Meet Our Team
Our team brings a range of expertise to newborn screening, including medical genetics; laboratory testing; genetic counseling; health communication; public health; informed decision making; ethics; family adaptation; special education; and child assessment.
Click the links below to meet the RTI team and our partners.