JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine will bring together some of the world's leading scientists and clinicians to share the latest omics and data-driven analytical technologies and research at the 12th annual Individualizing Medicine Conference on May 5-6 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The theme of this year's conference is "Direct-to-Patient Omics-Based Clinical Trials."  

"The landscape of medicine is changing," says Konstantinos Lazaridis, M.D., the Carlson and Nelson Endowed Executive Director for Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine. "What we thought clinical studies and trials were five years ago is no longer the case. Direct-to-patient, omics-based clinical studies are increasing access, leveraging minority engagement, decreasing costs and ultimately improving patient care." 

The conference will highlight a wide range of topics related to discoveries, translations and emerging applications of omics-based clinical trials in patient care, including:  

• Challenges and ethics in clinical trials. 
• Regulations and outcomes management: FDA approach. 
• Enhancing participant diversity in clinical trials. 
• Overview of genomic sequencing impact: Mayo Clinic Tapestry study.  
• Using biobanking genomic data to advance clinical trials for diabetes. 
• Early cancer detection and interception. 
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and patient privacy. 
• Patient registries to advance clinical trials and drug approvals.  
• Improving geographic diversity in direct-to-patient trials. 

Omics is an emerging multidisciplinary field of biological sciences that encompasses genomics, proteomics, exposomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and more. Omics research holds transformative possibilities for predicting and diagnosing diseases, such as cancer, and devising individualized treatments tailored to a person's unique biological characteristics.  

The conference will be held in person and also offered virtually. 

The keynote speakers are:   

Lola Fashoyin-Aje, M.D., a medical oncologist, deputy division director in the Division of Oncology 3 in the Office of Oncologic Diseases, and associate director in the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) at the Food and Drug Administration. Through her work as the OCE scientific liaison for cancer disparities, she has led efforts to increase inclusion and diversity in clinical trials. Dr. Fashoyin-Aje will discuss how to enhance participant diversity in clinical trials.  

Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), overseeing the only association focused completely on advancing the adoption of telehealth. The ATA has a diverse membership including leading health care delivery systems, academic institutions, technology solution providers and payers, as well as partner organizations and alliances. She has focused her career on innovations that leverage data, decision support tools and digital apps to make the health care experience better for patients. Johnson’s keynote lecture will focus on leveraging telemedicine and forging industry partnerships to transform clinical research.  

Featured speakers include: 

Arjun Athreya, Ph.D., M.S., a principal data scientist, associate consultant in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and assistant professor of pharmacology in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Dr. Athreya is a leader and expert in developing technologies in artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

Jim Cerhan, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor of epidemiology in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and the Ralph S. and Beverly Caulkins Professor of Cancer Research. His main research focus is using epidemiologic approaches to study the causes and outcomes of cancer in human populations. Identifying the causes of lymphoma and other cancers allows for new approaches to risk stratification and prevention. 

Tufia Haddad, M.D., is a medical oncologist with a special interest in breast cancer precision medicine. She is the Chair of Practice Innovation and Platform, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, and medical director of Care at Home at the Center for Digital Health. Dr. Haddad has a clinical and research interest in breast cancer. Her research focuses on experimental therapeutics and early-phase clinical trials for drug-resistant breast cancer. 

About Mayo Clinic   
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and to providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.   

Media contact:   

• Susan Murphy, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu   

Related Articles