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Health & WellnessMayo Clinic Conference to Explore Genomics in Patient Care
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ROCHESTER, Minn. — August 13, 2012. Mayo Clinic's Individualizing Medicine Conference, scheduled for
Oct. 1–3, will draw experts from around the world to discuss the use of genomics in patient care.
Physicians and researchers in this rapidly growing field are building a new type of medicine based on the genomic and molecular interactions that make each patient unique. At Mayo Clinic, the Center for Individualized Medicine is making these discoveries and building a clinical practice that delivers genomic medicine as part of routine care.
MULTIMEDIA ALERT: Multimedia resources, including video of Dr. Farrugia, are available for download on the Mayo Clinic News Network.
Conference sessions will be accessible to journalists through the News Network. Media may register for the site here.
This inaugural conference, Individualizing Medicine 2012, will be held at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Presentations will range from cutting-edge diagnostics and experimental cancer treatments to the most ethical and respectful ways to manage patient genomic information. An introduction to individualized medicine will be presented for those unfamiliar with the field.
"The technologies of genome sequencing have made tremendous strides over the past few years. The time needed to sequence and interpret whole genomes is no longer the seemingly insurmountable barrier it once was due to the use of these tools in the everyday care of our patients," says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., director of Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine, which is holding the event.
"Right now, we are building genomics technologies into our laboratories and electronic medical records," Dr. Farrugia says. "This conference will be a place for both doctors and scientists to develop real-world strategies for incorporating genomics into the clinical practice."
Conference highlights include:
- Oct. 1, 4:15 p.m. CDT: A poster session featuring more than 60 leading studies in individualized medicine will be presented.
- Oct. 2, 7 p.m. CDT: A free and open-to-the-public media panel discussion will engage leading science reporters with researchers and individualized medicine practitioners for a candid discussion of what patients want to know and what physicians are able to share. Ira Flatow, host of "Science Friday" on National Public Radio, will moderate the discussion "Great Expectations: Making Informed Decisions in Individualized Medicine." Ron Winslow, deputy medical editor of "The Wall Street Journal"; Erika Check Hayden, a senior reporter for "Nature"; and Susan Wolf, the McKnight Presidential Professor of Law, Medicine and Public Policy, and the Faegre Baker Daniels Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota, will participate in the panel.
- Ceci Connolly, managing director of the Health Research Institute at Price Waterhouse Coopers, will open the conference and facilitate the sessions Monday and Tuesday morning. Flatow will facilitate the conference on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday.
- Video vignettes that present realistic situations in the practice of personalized medicine will appear throughout the conference and will help to keep discussion focused on the patient. An overview video is now available on the conference website.
About the Center for Individualized Medicine
The Center for Individualized Medicine discovers and integrates the latest in genomic, molecular and clinical sciences into personalized care for each Mayo Clinic patient. For more information, click here.
About the Individualizing Medicine Conference
Individualizing Medicine 2012 is presented by Mayo Clinic, in partnership with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Arizona State University, University of Minnesota and Karolinska Institutet. This conference is supported by the Marriott Family Program in Individualized Medicine. For more information, click here.
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About Mayo Clinic:
Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit 150years.mayoclinic.org, www.mayoclinic.org and newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org.
Media Contact: Samuel Smith, 507-284-5005 (days), newsbureau@mayo.edu
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