Personalized Medicine – “The Future is Now”

This session will feature brief talks on different topics related to personalized medicine followed by a discussion with the speakers and invited participants that will focus on the future of personalized medicine and the issues surrounding it.

Talk 1

Speaker/Moderator: Raju Kucherlapati, PhD, Paul. C. Cabot Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School

Title: Introduction – “The Future is Now”

Talk 2

Speaker: Charles Lee, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Pathology, BWH

Title: “1000 Genomes Project”

Talk 3

Speaker: Elizabeth Karlson, MD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Medicine (Rheumatology), BWH

Title: “OurGenes, OurHealth, OurCommunity”

Talk 4

Speaker: Robert Green, MD, MPH, Lecturer, Dept. of Medicine (Genetics), BWH

Title: “Whole Genome Sequencing: Medseq”

Talk 5

Speaker: John Lauerman, Reporter, Bloomberg News

Title: “Whole Genome Sequencing: My Own Experience”

Session Chairs:

Robert Green, MD, MPH, Lecturer, Dept. of Medicine (Genetics), BWH

Raju Kucherlapati, PhD, Paul.C.Cabot Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School

Research Bios

Dr. Robert Green‘s research interests have evolved from a focus on clinical trials and genetic epidemiology to a focus on translational genomics and health outcomes. He has been continuously funded by NIH for 21 years and has published over 300 articles. Key contributions have included the development of risk estimates based on family history and genetic markers, leadership and analysis of large multi-center treatment and prevention trials, including trials enriched through family history, and design, leadership and future planning of the first large-scale randomized clinical trials in translational genetics

Dr. Elizabeth Karlson is a population scientist focusing on the epidemiology and outcomes of rheumatic disease.  Her research is focused on epidemiology and outcomes of rheumatic diseases, in particular Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).  The group has developed innovative epidemiologic tools for testing hypotheses in populations, investigated the epidemiology of rheumatic diseases in large cohorts of female health professionals, studied predictors of outcome in RA and SLE and established a large SLE Registry.

Raju Kucherlapati was the first Scientific Director of the Harvard Medical School-Partners Healthcare Center for Genetics and Genomics. His research focuses on gene mapping, gene modification, and cloning disease genes. The Kucherlapati laboratory was involved in the mapping and sequencing of the human genome with particular focus on human chromosome 12. He was also a member of the consortium to map and sequence the human and mouse genomes. Dr. Kucherlapati identified many human disease genes including those responsible for Velo-cardio-facial syndrome and Noonan Syndrome.

John Lauerman joined Bloomberg News in 2002 and covers higher education. As a health reporter for Bloomberg, he won a 2009 award from the Society of the Silurians for his stories on the failed search for a vaccine against HIV. His team won a 2005 award from the Society of American Business Writers and Editors for coverage of Merck & Co.’s withdrawal of the painkiller Vioxx after it was linked to heart disease. He has been a fellow of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Health Coverage program and the Kaiser Family Foundation’s program for science journalists. Before coming to Bloomberg, Lauerman was a science writer at Harvard Medical School, a freelance journalist for 12 years, wrote a health column for Harvard Magazine, and edited the public health journal “Health and Human Rights.”

Dr. Charles Lee’s cytogenetic research laboratory develops and applies state-of-the-art, molecular cytogenetic technologies to study the structure and organization of vertebrate genomes to understand human diseases and disorders. Dr. Lee studies structural genomic variation (including copy number variants); development and application of molecular cytogenetic probes and technologies for model organisms of human disease (including the zebrafish); and identification of cancer biomarkers. His lab also runs a Cytogenetic Core facility that provides cytogenetic services for researchers of the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and around the world.