Indian American researcher Pankhuri Gupta has earned national recognition for highlighting a silent challenge in modern medicine: the gap between what scientists know about genetics and what actually reaches a patient’s medical record.
Gupta, a research genetic counselor at University of Washington, has won the 2026 Richard King Trainee Award. Bestowed by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Foundation, the honour recognizes the year’s most outstanding research publication by a trainee in the journal Genetics in Medicine.
Gupta’s award-winning study, titled “Imprecision medicine,” shines a light on “variants of uncertain significance” (VUS). In the complex world of DNA sequencing, these variants are genetic changes where the impact on a person’s health is not yet clear. As science evolves, many of these “uncertain” flags are eventually reclassified as either harmless or disease-causing.
However, Gupta discovered that the hand-off between laboratory discovery and clinical records is often broken. Her research found that at least 1.6% of genetic classifications sitting in electronic health records were outdated when compared to current global databases. While that percentage may seem small, in the context of life-altering diagnoses, it represents a significant number of patients living with clinical information that is no longer accurate.
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Working within the laboratory of Dr. Andrew Stergachis, Gupta demonstrated that these systematic gaps in reporting can hinder the promise of personalized medicine.
“Uncertainty in genomic medicine can be challenging for patients,” Gupta said, noting that her motivation stems from a desire to bring more transparency to the process.
The editorial board of Genetics in Medicine selected Gupta’s work from a competitive field of international submissions. Robert D. Steiner, the journal’s editor-in-chief, noted that while they received many high-quality papers, Gupta’s manuscript stood out for its scientific merit and practical implications for the field.
Gupta’s journey to this award is rooted in a deep commitment to the Pacific Northwest medical community. After earning her master’s degree in genetic counseling from the University of Washington in 2024, she was selected as one of only ten fellows nationwide for a prestigious program supported by the Warren Alpert Foundation.
Today, she leads efforts at the Brotman Baty Institute to reclassify uncertain variants within a database containing records for more than 8,000 patients. Beyond the lab, she serves on the advisory board for UW’s genetic counseling program, helping to mentor the next generation of specialists who will navigate these genomic hurdles.
The Richard King Trainee Award is named for the founding editor-in-chief of Genetics in Medicine. It serves as a bridge for early-career professionals, encouraging them to produce high-level research that moves the needle on how genetic information is used to save lives.