Speaker Profile
Ph.D., Chief Scientific Office, Foundation Medicine
Biography
Dr. Stephens joined Foundation Medicine in March 2011, bringing more than a decade of experience in cancer genomics to the company. Dr. Stephens is a world-renowned expert in next-generation sequencing and cancer genome analysis and has authored numerous publications in Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, Cell and other high-profile journals. Prior to joining Foundation Medicine, Dr. Stephens held various senior research positions during his 11-year tenure with the Cancer Genome Project at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute under the direction of Professor Michael Stratton. During this time, Dr. Stephens was a member of the team that sequenced the first two comprehensive melanoma and lung cancer genomes, and was co-lead author in the discovery of BRAF in melanoma and ERBB2 in lung cancer. Dr. Stephens received a PhD from Oxford University.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2017 Silicon Valley
Session Synopsis: Liquid biopsies have the potential to bring precision medicine into the care of cancer patients for whom access to tissue is challenging. However, detecting tumor-specific DNA variants in blood samples presents challenges to the analytical validity and operational efficiency of these tests. This session will explore how leaders in the field are addressing these challenges to bring liquid biopsy to clinicians and their patients.
