KMBC 9: Thanks to Children's Mercy Research Institute, man diagnosed with rare DNA difference

By Donna Pitman

A special virtual event marked the official opening of the new Children's Mercy Research Institute.

The institute's new nine-story building on Hospital Hill in Kansas City is where physicians, scientists, and others will work to find answers to pediatric medicine's most challenging questions.

Twenty-year-old Ben Soden is a living testament to the work being done at Children’s Mercy’s Research Institute.

Four years ago, sitting in the school lunchroom, Soden knew something was wrong.

"I could feel my heart just pounding out of nowhere. I hadn't done any exercise," he said.

After discovering his heart rate was just as elevated when he was sleeping, Soden’s mom took him to Children’s Mercy. The team in the Genome Center discovered something a general blood draw wouldn’t have picked up: Soden has differences in his DNA which make it difficult for him to metabolize certain medications at a normal speed.

See the full story via KMBC

Learn more about the Genomic Medicine Center at Children's Mercy