The mental health system failed someone I love. 

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My daughter nearly died from anorexia.

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Watching a child you love starve herself while doctors cycle through medications by trial and error breaks something in you that doesn't grow back. I'd spent more than fifteen years inside genomic diagnostics. I'd watched DNA testing turn cancer from a guessing game into precision medicine. I knew what was possible. I knew it hadn't reached mental health yet.

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So I built what should have already existed.

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What I bring

Eighteen years inside the companies that built modern genomic diagnostics.

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I started at Illumina, the company whose sequencing technology underpins essentially every clinical genetic test on earth. I learned how the science gets done.

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I worked at SOPHiA Genetics, a clinical bioinformatics platform now used by hundreds of hospitals worldwide. I learned how to put real science in front of real clinicians.

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I currently lead sales for one of the most disciplined clinical-grade diagnostics companies in oncology. I learned what a serious diagnostic looks like, why CLIA/CAP exists, and what bad data does to a clinical decision.

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I built Sanctified Mind to those same standards. I'd bet my life on the science. I have.

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My story

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I'm a mom of six. A wife. A Christian. A cancer survivor. I grew up in hospitals. I know the smell, the rhythm, the language. It's why oncology felt like home.

When my daughter got sick, I was the parent in the room who knew exactly what genomic science could do. And I still couldn't get her the precision care she needed. That gap is why this company exists.

She lived. She recovered. She's why I keep going.

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A note on faith

Sanctified Mind is faith-rooted. That's not coded language. I'm a Christian, and I believe this work is sacred.

It's also for everyone. God's love doesn't require a denomination. If you're walking this journey, whatever you believe or don't believe, you belong on this site. Bring whoever you bring. Read what makes sense. Skip what doesn't. We will not preach at you.

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Sanctified Mind is

A precision psychiatric genomics company.

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We test around 206 genes across the pathways that shape mood, anxiety, eating behavior, and stress response. We deliver a report. Your clinician reads it. They use it to inform decisions. Decisions stay with them.

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We are not a diagnostic device. We don't treat, prescribe, or diagnose. We give your provider information they didn't have before.

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The science we stand on

The evidence that psychiatric conditions have genetic roots is no longer debated.

In 2019, the Cross-Disorder Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium published landmark work in Cell showing that eight psychiatric disorders share overlapping genetic architecture: autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, major depression, schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa, OCD, and Tourette syndrome (read the paper on PubMed or the UNC press summary).

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That paper changed the field.

Every claim we make on this site is grounded in peer-reviewed research. Most of it from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and other major GWAS groups indexed in PubMed.

 

Every gene we test is referenced to its source paper. We use validated statistical methods to integrate genetic data with validated clinical screeners and structured family history.

 

The screeners we incorporate include the PHQ-9 for depression, the GAD-7 for anxiety, the EDE-Q for eating disorders, and the OCI-R for obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

For pharmacogenomic context, we follow the prescribing guidelines published by the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium, the gold-standard MD-authored guidance for genetic test interpretation in clinical practice.

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If a clinician wants to read the literature behind a finding, the citation is right there. No black box.

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Scientific Advisor

Dr. Michael Lutter, MD, PhD.

Dr. Lutter is a psychiatrist and researcher whose work on the genetics of eating disorders is foundational to the field. He advises Sanctified Mind on scientific direction and clinical relevance. (LinkedIn · PubMed publications)

Our laboratory

Samples are processed at a CLIA/CAP-accredited laboratory in Houston, Texas. One of the country's leading partners in genomic testing. Some of the best people in the field of health work there. We don't shortcut quality. We don't run samples in someone's garage.

CLIA and CAP are the highest-tier regulatory and accreditation standards for clinical laboratories in the United States. Learn more about CLIA and CAP accreditation.

For clinicians

If you treat depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, eating disorders, or chronic stress, and you've spent years guessing at SSRIs and watching half your patients quit because the side effects outweighed the benefit, we built this for you.

Pathway-level genetic information is not a cure. It is not a replacement for the clinical relationship. It is one more honest data point before you decide.

We're building an early cohort of partner practices. If you want to talk, email me directly.

For patients and families

If you've been failed by trial-and-error psychiatry, if you've watched a child or a parent or yourself cycle through medications that didn't fit and nobody could explain why, you are not crazy and you are not alone.

This test isn't a cure. It's information. Real information about how your specific biology processes neurotransmitters, handles stress, methylates, regulates inflammation, responds to reward, and signals between your gut and your brain. Take that information to a clinician who knows you. Make better decisions together.

You are worth precise care.

References and resources

For clinicians, researchers, or patients who want to read the science behind our work.

Cornerstone evidence that psychiatric conditions are genetic

• Cross-Disorder Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders. Cell. 2019 Dec 12;179(7):1469-1482.e11. PubMed · UNC press summary

Research consortia we draw from

• Psychiatric Genomics Consortium — the largest collaborative effort in psychiatric genetics

• PubMed — National Library of Medicine literature database

• NIH National Human Genome Research Institute

Clinical pharmacogenomics guidance

• Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) — MD-authored prescribing guidelines for gene-drug pairs

Validated clinical screeners we incorporate

• PHQ-9 (depression) — Kroenke et al., J Gen Intern Med. 2001

• GAD-7 (generalized anxiety) — Spitzer et al., Arch Intern Med. 2006

• EDE-Q (eating disorders) — Fairburn & Beglin, Int J Eat Disord. 1994

• OCI-R (obsessive-compulsive) — Foa et al., Psychol Assess. 2002

Regulatory and accreditation standards

• CLIA program (CMS)

• CAP laboratory accreditation

• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)

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In crisis

If you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please get help right now.

Call or text 988. The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Free, confidential, available 24 hours a day, every day.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

Sanctified Mind Genomics. DNA testing for mental health. Contact: nikiausmus@gmail.com