Friday, November 3 from 5:30-7:00PM at the Washington Convention Center.

ASHG Symposium Description: Genetics and genomics research over the past quarter century has been transformed by technologies such as next generation sequencing and gene editing. These discoveries have and are being translated in the diagnostic and therapeutic arenas.  No better examples are in the domains of cell free DNA sequencing in reproductive health and cancer, and gene therapies for Mendelian disorders of blood and the immune system.  However, health access disparity to genomic medicine advances due to challenges in diversity of research participants, in economic and social determinants of health, and lack of genomic medicine expertise continue to the limit broad impact of genomic medicine on society and health.  Recognizing and developing strategies and technologies to overcome disparity will prevent genomic medicine translation from becoming a Sisyphean task.    

Moderators:

• TBD

Speakers and Format: Order TBD

• 

  Donald Kohn, MD, University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine

  • TITLE: Gene Therapy for Blood Cell Diseases using Hematopoietic Stem Cells
  • Cover the field’s advances in cell and gene therapy with emphasis on immunological and hematological disorders like SCID and sickle cell anemia

• 

  Dennis Lo, PhD, Chinese University of Hong Kong

  • Cover the field’s advances in cell free DNA diagnostics in the realm of reproductive health, cancer, and infectious diseases.

• 3^rd Speaker TBD

The goal of the symposium is to highlight the enormous research advances of genetics and genomics research in the past two decades, examples of successful clinical implementation, and the continuing challenges of health access disparity.  We want to ultimately convey the power and successes of genomic medicine, but also to remind ourselves of the importance of the continued need to increase access to current and future genomic medicine discoveries.