Session Abstract – PMWC 2018 Silicon Valley
Session Synopsis: Genomics guided precision medicine has great potential in terms of health management, disease prevention and improved diagnosis and treatment – however significant interpretation, translational and decision support challenges remain for molecular diagnostics labs, physicians and the patients and consumers they serve. There has been material progress in the development of better assays and wet lab capabilities but significant unmet needs and challenges remain for the insightfulness, clinical relevance and action-ability of lab reporting and physician decision support that has constrained the democratization of these promising genomics technologies. This panel, moderated by Sean P. Scott from QIAGEN, and composed of key stakeholders across the clinical workflow from ordering physician through laboratory director and pathologist to patient will provide a broad perspective on the current state of genomics-guided precision medicine and provide input on the trends, opportunities and challenges moving forward.
Session Chair Profile
Chief Business Officer VP, Market Development Clinical Genomics and Bioinformatics Qiagen
Biography
Sean works with broad range of customer, partners and collaborators in the development of genomics-guided precision medicine programs and capabilities. In this role, Sean is responsible for QIAGEN’s Clinical Genomics product portfolio offering serving the clinical decision support needs of molecular diagnostics and molecular pathology testing laboratories and healthcare provider networks globally whom are implementing genomics-based precision medicine programs and require expertise in dry lab capabilities including test interpretation and reporting. Sean led the development of QIAGEN’s recently commercialized Clinical Insight clinical decision support platform, an instrument, assay and pipeline agnostic test interpretation and reporting system that enables clinical testing labs to develop broad test menus and scale the analysis, interpretation and reporting of tests and to improve the insightfulness and action-ability of reporting to ordering physicians. Prior to QIAGEN, developed and managed Ingenuity’s marketing, sales and support operations as SVP, Global Commercial Operations and SVP, Corporate Development for Ingenuity Systems.
Speaker Profile
M.D., Hematopathologist / Molecular Pathologist, City of Hope National Medical Center
Biography
Dr. Raju K. Pillai is a physician scientist working at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA. He completed his residency at University of Southern California and fellowships in hematopathology and molecular genetic pathology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Triple board-certified in anatomic and clinical pathology, molecular genetic pathology and hematopathology, he is an active member of multiple professional associations, and has published more than 28 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts and book chapters. He is one of the expert hematopathologists at City of Hope with specialty expertise in diagnosis and genomic evaluation of hematologic diseases. As the director of Pathology Bioinformatics at City of Hope, Dr. Pillai is highly experienced in developing genomic assays and adapting bioinformatics tools for clinical use. His current research studies focus on multi-dimensional genomic analysis of cancer specimens and using that information to guide targeted therapy and immunotherapy.
Speaker Profile
M.D., Associate Professor, University of California San Francisco
Biography
The goal of my laboratory is to identify novel therapeutic approaches for cancer that target the genetic mutations and altered signaling networks that are specific to cancer cells. We are also interested in asking fundamental questions about how cancer cells are rewired through a combination of cell intrinsic and micro-environmental alterations. We use functional genomics applied to mouse and human systems (genetically engineered models, patient derived xenografts) to understand the transcriptional networks that regulate the outcome of specific oncogenic mutations. We have two primary disease interests: lung cancer and pediatric sarcomas. We use computational genomic analysis and function genomics extensively in our work. Lastly, we are interested in the application of next-generation sequencing to drive precision medicine for advanced pediatric cancer patients and are leading efforts to apply cutting edge genomics for advanced cancers at Benioff Children’s Hospitals of UCSF.
Speaker Profile
M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, UCSF; Lead Researcher, Collisson Lab, UCSF
Biography
Eric Collisson is a medical oncologist with a specific interest in the genomics of cancer and Associate Professor of Medicine In Residence at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). His academic lab uses a variety of techniques to interrogate three basic themes in the biology and clinical behavior of lung and pancreatic cancers in particular: 1) intra- patient tumor heterogeneity at the temporal and anatomic levels, 2) inter-patient heterogeneity between different patients and 3) tumor-micro environmental interactions. Eric’s lab uses a combination of genetically engineered mouse models, cell lines, and clinically derived samples to interrogate multiple genomic outputs with a focus on genomic DNA and mRNA. They have recently developed new mouse models of lung cancer to model somatic events observed in patient genomes. Pancreatic cancer studies focus on somatic events that modify KRAS signaling in the intact animal, with a focus on the microenvironment. Dr. Collisson’s clinical practice at the Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF focuses on using new technologies to genotype cancer patients’ tumors and, in cases, their germline susceptibility to certain cancer types. In this capacity Dr. Collisson plays a bridging role enabling new diagnostic techniques to reach their maximal potential clinically in the shortest amount of time.
Speaker Profile
Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Virginia Commonwealth University
Biography
Dr Andrea Ferreira-Gonzalez, PhD is the Chair of the Molecular Diagnostics Division and Director of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at VCU Health System. She is an international expert in molecular diagnostics in the area of genetics, precision medicine, and infectious diseases. She has played a role in shaping national policy regarding the practice, reimbursement and guideline development for molecular genetic testing. Dr. Ferreira-Gonzalez is a consultant for FDA’s Clinical Genetics Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee, Center for Devices and Radiological Health. She also served in the HHS Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society (SACGHS) and a member of CDC’s CLIAC. Dr. Ferreira-Gonzalez also served as AMP President, Chair of the Professional Relations Committee and more recently as the Secretary/Treasurer. She served on the DOJ-NIST National Commission on Forensic Sciences. Dr Ferreira-Gonzalez serves as a member of the Molecular Biology Education Committee for International Federation of Clinical Chemistry.
