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Harvard - Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics Hosts Personalized Medicine Conference; Dr. Eric Topol of the Cleveland Clinic and Dr. David Brailer of HHS Join Program of Thought Leaders to Analyze Opportunities for Transforming Healthcare

Posted on: Monday, 24 October 2005, 12:00 CDT

The Harvard Medical School - Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics (HPCGG) today announces "Personalized Medicine: Promises and Prospects", to be held November 3 - 4, 2005. This conference is among the first by a nationally renowned academic center to assemble thought leaders in personalized medicine from academia, government and industry. The program will spotlight recent successes in genetics-based disease treatment, scientific advances in the molecular-based understanding of disease, and how genetic information is opening new opportunities for improved health care for patients, physicians, scientists, insurers and policy-makers.

Personalized medicine utilizes molecular analysis (through genetics and proteomics) to better manage a patient's disease or predisposition toward a disease. It aims to achieve optimal medical outcomes by helping physicians and patients choose the disease management approaches likely to work best in the context of a patient's genetic and environmental profile.

The conference will feature prominent academic and industrial thought leaders, including:

-- Eric Topol, M.D., Chief Academic Officer and Chairman, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, on the ability of genetics to define treatment options and efficacy in heart attack;

-- David Brailer, M.D., Ph.D., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on the expanding role of and changing demands on information technology in developing a personalized medicine-based healthcare system;

-- John Hohneker, M.D., Vice President, U.S. Medical Affairs and Services, Oncology, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, on lessons learned from Gleevec, a widely successful tailored therapy for cancer;

-- Reed Tuckson, M.D., Senior Vice President, Consumer Health, United Health Care, on the challenges that payors face in implementing personalized medicine in a changing healthcare environment;

-- Mara Aspinall, President, Genzyme Genetics, on the role of diagnostics in personalized medicine and creating a healthcare atmosphere that promotes "the right test for the right patient at the right time";

-- Sharon Terry, President and Chief Executive Officer, Genetic Alliance, on communicating the importance of genetic information to the public to ensure patient confidence in the potential of personalized medicine;

-- Deborah Dunsire, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Millenium, on Millenium's early efforts to broaden knowledge and acceptance of personalized medicine within industry and government and how this knowledge has fueled recent successes in personalized medicine.

"In order to accelerate the practice of personalized medicine, we have to address a broad range of questions - from how to promote rigorous discovery in the laboratory to how to ensure patients have access to the best tailored therapies in the clinic," notes Dr. Raju Kucherlapati, Ph.D., scientific director of HPCGG. "This conference will explore how to integrate successfully the various components of a healthcare system in a "bench-to-bedside" manner so that personalized medicine will become the standard for the best possible patient care."

The conference will be held at the Conference Center at Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston. For more information or to register for the event, please visit www.hpcgg.org.

About the Harvard/Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics (HPCGG)

HPCGG is a joint enterprise between Harvard Medical School and Partners HealthCare System, dedicated to accelerating the realization of personalized medicine by discovering and integrating genetic knowledge as rapidly as possible into the practice of patient care. The Center combines world-class scientific talent with access to a population of over two million patients and their physicians, providing a continuum of resources and expertise to translate scientific discoveries into prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment of illnesses. HPCGG operates laboratory facilities and services to enable genetic study design, DNA sequencing, genotyping, proteomics, bioinformatics, and gene expression. It also operates full-service genetic clinics for patients with known or suspected genetic conditions. Through programs at Harvard Medical School and other academic institutions, the Center offers a variety of educational programs to train the next generation of healthcare practitioners and researchers.

Source: Business Wire

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