RISE - Rare Insights, Solutions, Empowerment - is a global clinical program of Genetic Alliance dedicated to expanding access to genomic and precision medicine for children with suspected genetic conditions. RISE provides no-cost clinical genome and exome sequencing and follow-through services for children who cannot otherwise access them, connecting families with the clinical expertise, diagnostic technologies, research capabilities, and supports they need. Our guiding belief is simple: every child with a suspected rare disease should have access to genomic testing and care, regardless of geography or resources.
The beginnings
RISE began as iHope, a philanthropic initiative of Illumina that initially supported a small number of patients in Southern California. The program quickly expanded to additional U.S. clinics and then to international sites in historically under-resourced regions, beginning with Hospital Infantil de Las Californias in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.
A growing body of evidence
As the program grew, the experiences of individual children and families became the basis for systematic study. In a published analysis of 1,004 individuals tested through iHope, clinical genomic testing provided a molecular diagnosis for 41.4%. The findings also demonstrated that a diagnosis could change medical management, inform genetic counseling, and help families avoid additional testing.
A new home and a broader network
In 2021, iHope became a program of Genetic Alliance, and has grown from a regional philanthropic sequencing effort into a global patient-first infrastructure for genomic diagnosis. The network now includes 26 clinical sites, nine laboratories, and two software partners in 19 countries, leveraging multiple sequencing technologies and an expanding range of expertise.
A new name
In 2026, the program became RISE: Rare Insights, Solutions, Empowerment. The new name recognizes the evolution of the program to provide support beyond testing access. Families need useful information, practical next steps, and the ability to make informed decisions about care and research.
A person-first, collaborative network
RISE carries forward the relationships, experience, and commitment established over more than a decade of the program’s history. The transition marks the growth of the work, while preserving its central purpose: expanding access to genomic answers and helping children and families use those answers in their lives.
RISE is disease-agnostic, patient-centered and operates as a distributed, intentionally collaborative, and technology-neutral network. A family’s diagnostic journey may begin with genomic testing and continue through reanalysis, additional clinical investigations, connection with researchers studying a particular disease mechanism, or opportunities for clinical research and therapeutic development.
The network is designed to evolve with both science and the needs of the people it serves. By connecting families with clinical expertise, diagnostic technologies, research capabilities, and one another, RISE seeks to enable greater participation and agency throughout the diagnostic journey.