Please review this form and, if you agree, provide your consent for genetic testing at the bottom of the form. If you do not agree, please do not submit any samples or other materials to AWAKENS, Inc. (“AWAKENS”) or our third-party partners.
One of our missions at AWAKENS is to help our customers understand how their DNA may impact certain personal traits. This Informed Consent for Raw Data Upload (“Informed Consent”) explains:
Please review this Informed Consent carefully. If you agree to allow AWAKENS to access and use your data to perform the Genomelink service as described herein and in our Privacy Statement and Terms of Use, click the “I consent” prompt at the end of this document. You must be 18 years or older to use Genomelink.
Key Terms
What is Genomelink?
Every individual is made up of trillions of cells. Cells can be thought of as small, microscopic packets containing our DNA. DNA is necessary for the normal health and maintenance of our body. It is particularly important because it allows one’s genetic information, which influences health and physical characteristics, to be passed down from one generation to the next.
Genes are segments of coding and non-coding DNA that provide instructions for the formation of proteins and other important biological compounds. Changes found in an individual’s genes or DNA (as compared to a normal, healthy individual) can cause disease or increase one’s risk for disease. Conversely, gene changes may also be protective against certain illnesses and diseases.
We created Genomelink to give you insights about your DNA. We want to empower you by giving you information about how your DNA shapes your nutrition, fitness, personality and intelligence Traits.
Genomelink provides Trait analysis for healthy individuals. Genomelink is not a diagnostic test and should not be used to diagnose any disease in yourself or others. If you have concerns about a disease or medical condition, you should discuss your concerns with your healthcare provider.
How does Genomelink work?
To use Genomelink, you must first create a Genomelink account and then upload your Raw Data. The Raw Data you upload should come from one of the following Third Party DNA Services: 23andMe, My Heritage, or Ancestry.com. We may expand the list of Third Party DNA Services in the future. Before uploading your Raw Data, or the Raw Data about another person, you must confirm that you have the rights and permissions necessary to share that Raw Data with us.
Once we receive your Raw Data, we and our scientists analyze it to identify variants in the sequencing that may indicate the presence of, or risk for, a variety of non-medical Traits, such as your cognitive ability, height, waist size, and muscular strength. Variations can occur in the coding and/or non-coding portions of your DNA. We look at both the coding and non-coding portions to better predict your Traits.
In addition to uploading your Raw Data, you may also complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire will ask you questions about your health, family tree, behaviors, and lifestyle. This Self-Reported Information can help us improve your Trait analysis and reports. Completing a questionnaire and providing Self-Reported information is completely voluntary.
The information we gather from your Raw Data and your Self-Reported Information helps us to create individualized Trait information and reports that you can view and download through your Genomelink account.
What kind of Traits can I learn about?
The Trait analysis reports that we create for and about you will provide interpretation of your genes. Through our research and insights, we can give you different information about your Traits, including your preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, preferences, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes. The number and types of reports you get will depend on whether you are a free or a paid user.
The Traits we are able to analyze may change as we grow and enhance our research. The research and science behind Genomelink is based on the current state of knowledge about the field of genomics. Overtime, we will learn more about DNA and how it affects various Traits. As this knowledge improves, we may update our research, reports, and the Genomelink service we provide you. As a result, your Trait analysis may change over time.
Genomelink does not currently analyze or report on medical diseases or medical-related traits. Therefore, genomic variants that might predict disease or carrier status (such as whether you are a carrier for Tay-Sachs disease or cystic fibrosis) will not be analyzed by us or identified in the Genomelink report.
Who will be able to access my results?
You, and any individual who you give access to your Genomelink account, will be able to access your Trait analysis and reports.
Our team may also be able to access your results to create reports, improve your results, answer your questions, and provide you with additional assistance that you may need from time to time. We limit access to your results to our team members who have a legitimate reason to access them for the purposes listed above. Our Privacy Statement contains information about how we use the Personal Information we collect about you while using Genomelink.
In addition, in the limited circumstances described in our Privacy Statement, other third parties (such as our service providers, research partners, and law enforcement/governmental entities) may be able to access your results. We do not share your results or your identifiable data with any other third parties or in any other circumstances except with your consent.
Will AWAKENS use my data for purposes other than providing me with Trait analysis?
We may use your data for purposes other than providing you with your Trait analysis. Such purposes are described in our Privacy Statement, and include the following:
If you choose to join one of our research studies, we will also use your data for research purposes. You must separately consent to participate in research through a separate informed consent form.
In addition, we may aggregate your data with other our other customers’ data for our own and our partners’ research and marketing purposes. Aggregated data cannot be used to identify you. For example, aggregated data may include a statement that “30% of our female users share a particular genetic trait,” without providing any data or Trait analysis specific to any individual user.
What are the benefits of using Genomelink?
We want you to benefit from using Genomelink and we hope you enjoy learning about your genetics. We aim to empower you with knowledge about your DNA and Traits so that you can make choices to improve your health, wellness, and interests.
We also hope you use Genomelink to better understand how genetics works, including what your Raw Data looks like. We have a number of features, including our Raw Data view, to help you visually understand how your DNA data is analyzed based on growing genetics research.
What are the risks of using Genomelink?
There are some risks to using the Genomelink Service.
There is a chance that you could learn something about yourself that you did not want to know. For example, you may learn that you are predisposed to sadness, anger, or loneliness, or that you are likely to experience skin pigmentation or baldness. Since you share DNA with your blood relatives, what you learn about yourself could also affect them. You may want to discuss your options with a doctor, mental health professional or genetic counselor before or after you get your results.
There is a risk that your genetic information could be used as a basis of discrimination. To address concerns regarding possible health insurance and employment discrimination, many countries (including the United States) have enacted laws to prohibit genetic discrimination in those circumstances. The laws may not protect against genetic discrimination in other circumstances such as when applying for life insurance, disability insurance, or long-term care insurance. You should talk to your physician or genetic counselor if you have concerns about genetic discrimination.
We may need to share details about you with regulators and law enforcement. These details may include your Raw Data, Trait analysis, or other Personal Information. We will only share these details if we believe that the law or legal process requires us to do so. Please see our Privacy Statement for more details.
Finally, there is a risk that we experience a security incident and, as a result, someone accesses your data and results without authorization. This information could allow someone to connect your Raw Data and other Personal Information back to you. We take steps to reduce the risk of security incidents. Please see our Privacy Statement for more details.
What are the limitations?
Genomelink has some limitations. Some of these limitations are unique to Genomelink, while other limitations are related to Trait analysis in general. Many of these limitations are discussed in our Terms of Use.
Your Raw Data and Trait analysis cannot tell you everything about you -- your DNA is only a part of who you are. The analysis we do on your Raw Data, including any reports we create for you, is not deterministic. In other words, the analysis and results describe your probability of having a given Trait, and can only rarely predict when you have that Trait for certain. In some cases, the choices you make about how you live your life will influence your Traits more than your DNA.
It is possible that the Raw Data you upload to Genomelink contains errors. In some cases, errors can occur when a Third Party DNA Service sequences your DNA or reads the stored genetic information. Because we do not, at this time, collect and test your DNA samples ourselves, we are unable to identify the errors that might occur in the processing of your DNA sample.
How do I withdraw my consent?
You can withdraw your consent at any time by stopping your use of Genomelink. You can also choose to close your Genomelink account. More details about closing your account and withdrawing your consent can be found in our Privacy Statement and Terms of Use. If you close your Genomelink account, you will not be able to access your information on Genomelink moving forward. When you close your account, we will archive your information. We will keep it archived for as long as we need to meet our legal and regulatory requirements.
If you withdraw your consent, we discontinue the use of your data going forward. Withdrawing your consent does not affect or nullify how we used your data in the past.
Additional important information
We are not medical or healthcare professionals. We do not provide medical advice, medical diagnosis, or recommendations for medical treatment. We also do not provide genetic analysis or reports regarding diseases or medical conditions. If you need advice regarding diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of any disease, health, or medical condition, you should consult your doctor or another qualified healthcare professional.
Questions about Genomelink
If you have questions about Genomelink or what you are consenting to in this Informed Consent, you can contact us at info@awakens.co.
Acknowledgment and Consent
I acknowledge the following:
