Institute for Precision Medicine

UPMC Enterprises, the innovation, commercialization, and venture capital arm of UPMC, hosted the Top of Mind Summit: Life Sciences at the Center for Connected Medicine in September - bringing together over 100 health care executives for a two-day conference focused on the emerging challenges and opportunities in the #lifesciences and health care sectors.? ? During the Summit, four key themes emerged, emphasizing the importance of collaborations between health care systems, academia, and industry to foster innovation and advance health care access and equity. Key Summit Themes ?? ? · Patient-centric solutions connecting diverse stakeholders? · The growing role of AI in health care? · Enhancing clinical trials for greater impact? · Improving accessibility and affordability in health care delivery For valuable insights on how industry stakeholders can work together to make innovation accessible, affordable, and equitable for everyone, download the Summit recap report. https://lnkd.in/dKihgKHT

#PrecisionMedicine provides patients with access to personally tailored treatments based on individual-level data. However, developing personalized therapies requires analyses with substantial statistical power to map genetic and epidemiologic associations that ultimately create models informing clinical decisions. As one solution, #biobanks have emerged as large-scale, longitudinal cohort studies with long-term storage of biological specimens and health information, including electronic health records and participant survey responses. By providing access to individual-level data for genotype–phenotype mapping efforts, pharmacogenomic studies, polygenic risk score assessments and rare variant analyses, biobanks support ongoing and future precision medicine research. https://lnkd.in/e_BP_6MT

The University of Pittsburgh is reimagining #clinicalresearch to enhance their position as a global leader in academic medicine, harnessing the collective research strengths of the six health sciences schools to bring novel solutions to clinical care in partnership with UPMC. As part of this initiative, Pitt is creating a collaborative Clinical Trials Office and a Clinical Research Operations office to provide comprehensive centralized support at every stage—from study development to execution, from data management and analyses to publications, and?from innovation to implementation in patient care—further establishing Pitt and UPMC as the premier institutions shaping the future of medicine and health care. https://lnkd.in/dKU9c2JA

New research from the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center suggests that targeting the way immune cells absorb lactic acid could help reinvigorate exhausted T cells, enhancing their ability to fight cancer. The study,?published in?Nature Portfolio Immunology, shows that blocking the protein responsible for transporting lactic acid into T cells not only improves the function of #Tcells cells, but also improved tumor control in mouse models of cancer. “Blocking access to inhibitory metabolites is a completely new take on how we can reinvigorate the immune system,” said senior author Greg Delgoffe, PhD, professor of immunology at Pitt and director of the Tumor Microenvironment Center at UPMC Hillman. “We often think of exhausted T cells as being useless, but this study shows that we can actually get juice out of these cells by blocking the negative effects of the tumor microenvironment.”

Highlighted in Inside Precision Medicine ?? Pembrolizumab Can Improve Outcomes for Sarcoma Patients according to new study. Soft tissue sarcoma is a rare and very variable type of cancer, which can make it hard to treat. Around 50% of patients who have advanced sarcomas develop untreatable metastases, making it important to intervene with effective treatment at an early stage “Soft tissue sarcoma is a rare and complex disease with over 50 different subtypes, which makes it hard to study in large clinical trials,” said first author Yvonne Mowery, associate professor of radiation oncology at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. https://lnkd.in/eB7Jh8gj

Meet the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh #Genetic #Counselors!??

At UPMC Magee-Womens in Pittsburgh, #prenatal #genetic counselors work one-on-one with patients to evaluate family histories and identify potential risks for genetic conditions through personalized assessments. Genetic counselors provide balanced information about your risks and options, working with you to guide your care. A conversation with a genetic counselor can empower families to make informed decisions regarding reproductive options, such as prenatal testing or assisted reproductive technologies, or even decisions regarding the course of pregnancy. #GeneticCounselingAwarenessDay ??https://lnkd.in/eWBbBgm2 ??Rebecca Oberschmidt, MS, CGC | Madalyn Charnego, MPH, MS, CGC | Seth Lascurain

??Today is Genetic Counselor Awareness Day! Genetic counselors are leading the way in personalized healthcare?? As healthcare becomes more personalized, genetic counselors are on the frontlines, offering vital insights into genetic risks and patient care. Celebrate their contributions this Genetic Counselor Awareness Day and learn more about their crucial role. https://lnkd.in/gx7e_XBY

The STRIPE initiative seeks to standardize #pharmacogenomic practices and improve clinical decision-making by establishing consensus across all stakeholders. Pharmacy Times?interviewed Sara Rogers, PharmD, president of the American Society of Pharmacovigilance (ASP) and clinical assistant professor at Texas A&M University, on the Standardizing Laboratory Practices in Pharmacogenomics (STRIPE) initiative, spearheaded by ASP to address adverse drug events (ADEs) through pharmacogenomics (#PGx). https://lnkd.in/eRcw9H9E

#PrecisionMedicine has been particularly transformative in #BreastCancer. Standard reports have long included hormone receptor markers like Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PgR), and Human Epidermal Growth Receptor 2 (HER2) to guide treatment. Now, genomic profiling is further enhancing the precision of breast cancer care. Learn more about the role of #GenomicTesting for personalized treatment ?? https://lnkd.in/e8A9YYCq