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SAN FRANCISCO — Invitae, a Bay Area genetic testing company with a mission to use genomic information to improve health care, has struggled to turn that mantra into a solid business model. It’s now trying to turn things around.

The company, which offers genetic tests for people who are pregnant or planning to have a child as well as for conditions such as heart disease and hereditary cancers, announced last July that it would lay off more than 1,000 employees, more than a third of its workforce at the time. Invitae also announced that its Chief Operating Officer, Ken Knight, would take over as CEO.

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STAT sat down with Knight during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference for one of his first conversations with reporters about the company’s struggles, its plans to rebound, and how he thinks his unorthodox background has prepared him for this moment.

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