Speaker Profile
M.D., Senior Vice President, Director and Full Member, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Biography
Dr. Davidson is a world-renowned breast cancer researcher who serves as President of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Senior Vice President of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Head of the Oncology Division at the University of Washington. She was president of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) from 2007-2008 and of American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) from 2016-2017. Dr. Davidson completed her MD from Harvard Medical School, her internship at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, residency at Johns Hopkins, and a fellowship at NIH’s National Cancer Institute. She served as a faculty member in the Oncology Department at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 1986-2009, she served as the Breast Cancer Research Chair of Oncology from 1995-2009. At the University of Pittsburgh from 2009-2016, she served as Hillman Professor of Medicine, associate vice chancellor for cancer research and Director of the Cancer Institute.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2019 Silicon Valley
Session Synopsis: Historically, genetic testing has only been available to a small number of qualified patients and high-risk families after serious disease has already been detected — largely because of cost and clinical utility considerations. However, family history can be a relatively poor indicator of risk for a variety of reasons and a growing body of clinical evidence suggests that serious Mendelian-inherited genetic conditions (of which there are over 4,000) are far more prevalent in the general population than previously appreciated. As comprehensive genetic testing becomes more affordable and accessible it will also become increasingly available and clinically actionable for healthy individuals in the primary care setting. The day in which we can test for all known inherited genetic conditions for a cost of a few hundred dollars is rapidly approaching and will forever change our approach to preventive medicine.
