Conference Brings Genetics Straight to Consumers
Too often medical consumers overlook laboratorians when considering who their care providers are. It's the same old story - out of sight, out of mind. So it struck me as a forward-thinking concept when I read about an upcoming Consumer Genetics Conference set for Oct. 3 to 5 at the Seaport Hotel in Boston, Mass.
The conference will explore key issues pertaining to clinical genetics, personalized medicine, molecular diagnostics, and consumer-targeted DNA applications. As attendees learn about advancements and innovations in diagnostics, they will also meet laboratory professionals, researchers and luminaries and put a face to the essential providers often sequestered in the lab.
This is the fourth such conference, which will feature interactive panel discussions led by leaders in their fields. According to a news release, program highlights include:
- Keynote:Lee Silver, PhD., professor of molecular biology and public affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University,Self-Discovery in the Age of Personal Genomes
- Keynote:Jay Flatley, president and CEO, Illumina, The Big Picture: Visions for Personalized Medicine
- Keynote:Kenneth Chahine, PhD, JD, senior vice president and general manager,DNA, Ancestry.com,An Inside Look at How AncestryDNA Uses Population Genetics to Enrich Its Online Family History Experience
- Diana Bianchi, MD, executive director, Mother Infant Research Institute, Tufts Medical Center, Advances in Noninvasive Prenatal Genetic Testing: Does This Mean "Designer" Babies for All?
- Arindam Bhattacharjee,PhD, CEO and founder, Parabase Genomics,Screening Neonates by Targeted Next-Generation DNA Sequencing
- Gholson Lyon, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Human Genetics, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory,Consumer Empowerment in Health Care and Personal Genomics: Ethical, Societal and Regulatory Considerations
- Craig Martin, CEO, Feinstein Kean Healthcare,Genomes R Us - How Personalized Medicine is Reshaping the Role of Patients, and Why It Matters
- James McCullough, CEO and founder, Exosome Diagnostics,Measuring Disease Treatment and Progression at the Molecular Level without Biopsy
- Oliver Rinner, PhD, CEO, Biognosys AG,Bridging the Gap between Genetic Risk and Blood Diagnostics by Personalized Health Monitoring
- Samuil R. Umansky, MD, PhD, DSc, co-founder, CSO, and president, DiamiR LLC,A Paradigm Shift: Universal Screening Test
- Brian T. Naughton, PhD, founding scientist, 23andMe,23andMe's DTC Exome
Many more presentations will be offered. For the full program and to register: www.consumergeneticsconference.com/.
The release rightfully pointed out, "As advancements in genetic testing, personalized medicine and molecular diagnostics continue to expand, they are also facing the growing pains of an emerging industry struggling with policy, regulatory framework, industry standards, and product commercialization."
This conference may help medical consumers to see the vast possibilities of genetics testing and help to engage them in the very idea of proactive healthcare that comes to fruition in the lab.