For Immediate Release: Friday, October 23, 2026, 8:20 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time
Media Contact: Evelyn Mantegani, +1 240-833-2014, [email protected]
Rockville, Md. – Pharmacogenomics is moving beyond the traditional study of individual gene-drug pairs. A trainee-led session will examine how multiomic data, functional genomics, diverse populations, biobanks, and electronic health records can provide a more complete picture of why people respond differently to medications.
Speakers will highlight research at the intersection of genomic variation and drug response. Unlike many disease-associated variants that have individually small effects, common pharmacogenomic variants can substantially influence treatment efficacy, dosing, and adverse events. Speakers will present innovative approaches involving omics profiling of cellular models under drug perturbation, functional genomic assays designed to measure drug response, studies of historically understudied populations, and analyses of environmental and social influences on treatment outcomes.
The presentations will explore how these approaches may expand the established gene-drug paradigm and identify potentially actionable findings that could be missed when results do not transfer reliably across populations. The program will also evaluate the growing use of large biobanks and electronic health record databases, weighing the benefits of scale and real-world clinical data against limitations involving population representation, data quality, and phenotype definition.
By placing emerging scientists at the center of the conversation, the session offers a forward-looking view of how pharmacogenomics is becoming more comprehensive, inclusive, and clinically informative.
Session Presentations Include:
- Multiomic analysis of hepatocyte models – discovery of pharmacogenomics insights in African Americans by Carolina Clark, Northwestern University
- Massively parallel functional investigation of the impact of regulatory variants on glucocorticoid response by Brett Brown, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- The use of the All Of Us to identify genetic drivers of platelet factor 4/heparin antibody production in diverse populations by Andrew Klein, University of Arizona
- Clinical applications of social determinants of health in pharmacogenomics research by Shana Littleton, Henry Ford Health Center
About the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG)
The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) is the leading global organization advancing the science of human genetics and genomics. Representing nearly 8,000 researchers, clinicians, genetic counselors, educators, and other professionals, ASHG drives progress in understanding the human genome and its role in health and disease. The Society fosters innovation and collaboration through its flagship events and publications—including the ASHG Annual Meeting and its peer-reviewed journals The American Journal of Human Genetics and Human Genetics and Genomics Advances. ASHG also champions science advocacy, supports the next generation of genetics professionals, and promotes responsible policies and public engagement in genetics. Learn more at www.ashg.org.
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