Consultant to filmmakers
	HE'S HOLLYWOOD'S EXPERT ON GENETICS
	BY ELAINE SCHMIDT / UCLAToday      Wayne Grody's life reads like a classic movie script: By  day, the mild-mannered professor quietly directs UCLA Medical Center's diagnostic molecular pathology lab. By night, he morphs into a high-powered entertainment consultant whose writing and production talents are in hot demand by films and TV shows such as "The Nutty Professor" and "Law & Order."       "I've always loved movies, especially science fiction," said Grody, who wrote film reviews for MD Magazine for 10 years and is currently working on Hollywood projects with Eddie Murphy,  Samuel L. Jackson and Shaun Cassidy. "These days, more story lines hinge on genetics. I counsel screenwriters on concept, do rewrites and work with artists to design lab sets and special effects."       In lieu of a consulting fee, the studios donate to Grody's research at UCLA, where he is focusing on a rare genetic disease. Grody first arrived on campus in 1982 as a pathology resident  before pursuing a medical genetics fellowship. Seventeen years later, public interest in DNA testing has exploded beyond his wildest expectations.       "Medical geneticists used to focus on children's diseases, such as Tay-Sachs and Down's syndrome," Grody explained. "Now our caseloads have doubled. Genetic  testing has moved on to common adult disorders, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease."      A prominent leader in the field, Grody served on a National Institutes of Health  task force to set ethical guidelines on genetic testing. He also chaired a committee for the College of American Pathologists that produced an influential set of genetic laboratory protocol.       Grody believes that the information afforded by genetic testing outweighs the ethical and emotional potholes. "Once people learn they carry a disease-linked gene,  they can receive psychosocial support," he said. "Our goal is to help individuals make informed decisions for their futures, such as medical intervention, lifestyle, childbearing and career choices."       In addition to his roles in research, teaching and DNA testing, Grody works as a clinical geneticist, diagnosing and counseling patients at risk for hereditary diseases.       "UCLA's laboratory recently became one of the first U.S. sites to test women for mutations in BRAC1 and 2, the genes for familial breast and ovarian cancer," said  Grody. "If a woman's DNA displays one of these genes, she is 50% to 80% more likely to develop breast or ovarian cancer. She has a lot of decisions to make, and we want to make sure she knows all of her options."       Grody's lab also offers DNA fingerprinting to prove paternity, a test often requested in celebrity child-support cases and by husbands suspicious of their  wives' fidelity. "About one-third of the time, the father's DNA doesn't match 'his' child's," said Grody. "The mother usually knows the truth."       While Grody has never dramatized one of his cases, hospital work provides a fertile breeding ground for his screenwriting. "Truth always proves stranger than fiction,"  he said. "UCLA is such a huge place that you can find just about every imaginable story here."      One of Grody's most intriguing scripts involved a female patient with Munchausen  syndrome who feigned cancer of the adrenal gland by injecting herself with epinephrine.      Her motive? To discredit her physician after he abruptly ended their relationship.  The episode aired during the first season of "Chicago Hope."
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