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December 6, 2023: Cancer & Genomics Digital Forum

Join Today's Clinical Lab and our speakers for our Cancer & Genomics Digital Forum on December 6, 2023


     Today's Clinical Lab Cancer & Genomics Digital Forum
You're invited to the Today's Clinical Lab Cancer & Genomics: Unlocking the Future Digital Forum event! Join us and our special guest speakers December 6, 2023, for a live virtual event.

This one-day virtual event will bring together leading experts in cancer research and diagnostics, as well as genomics, who will share insights and explore the latest advances and trends in the worlds of cancer and genetics.

Presentations will touch on

  • innovative approaches to genetic testing utilization within laboratories and health systems
  • novel clinical applications and computational biomarkers for digital pathology and oncology
  • how epigenetics analysis can help inform cancer screening and detection
  • current challenges in HER2 testing in breast cancer and future advances in HER classification

During each live presentation, our experts will field questions from the audience. Register for free for updates and guidance on cancer diagnostics and genomics from key clinical Thought Leaders.

AGENDA

11:00 AM ET

From Cancer Genetics to Cancer Genomics & Beyond: Where Have We Been & Where Are We Going?

Presented by Megan Maxwell, MS, LCGC

In this webinar, Megan Maxwell, MS, LCGC, a licensed and certified genetic counselor with 15 years of experience, will guide you through an abbreviated history of cancer genetics, in addition to the current climate of cancer genomics and its future directions. Learn how this legacy has influenced contemporary utilization patterns, CPT code assignment, and reimbursement. Discover how genomics is anticipated to transform laboratory medicine from a system of siloed subspecialists into a network of multidisciplinary collaborators, and how anatomic, clinical, and molecular pathology have already intersected.

By attending this webinar, you will learn about the different ways cancer genomics is expected to propel us toward proactive health care rather than the reactive “sick care” to which we’ve become accustomed.

12:30 PM ET

Overcoming Data Quality Bottlenecks to Fuel Clinical Sequencing Applications

Presented by Trey Foskett

Clinical sequencing applications require solutions that maximize the information output from samples where template mass and quality are limited. Accessing this information requires multiple enzymatic manipulations that are inefficient and can corrupt data. Watchmaker Genomics has paired novel enzyme engineering with multidimensional reaction optimization to develop NGS library preparation solutions that better maintain data integrity—minimizing bias and improving sequence accuracy to ultimately increase sensitivity. DNA methylation—clinically interesting due to its potential role in disease progression—is our next area of interest, where there is large scope for improvement on DNA recovery, data quality, and ease of workflow and analysis.

2:00 PM ET

A New Foundation: Accelerating Diagnostic and Predictive Digital Pathology Tools

Presented by Dr. Joe Oakley

Phenotype—the appearance of cells under the microscope—and the association of particular phenotypes with disease has been the bedrock of pathology since the invention of the microscope. With digitized slides and machine learning techniques applied to those images, pathology is beginning to deploy task-specific artificial intelligence (AI) for hypothesis generation, basic research, and in the clinic as diagnostic decision aids. 

In this webinar, we will discuss the recent development of a new “foundation model” in cancer pathology capable of discerning malignancy accurately across 17 different organ systems from the whole slide image of an H&E-stained slide. This model truly forms the foundation for accelerated development of new diagnostic aids, as well as helps unlock digital biomarkers, which bring the power of deep interrogation of the phenotype into the pathologists’ and clinicians’ toolkit. 

We will close with a discussion of some of the remaining bottlenecks to digital predictive biomarkers, and how solving these will help unlock the potential of this complementary technology for better patient care.

BONUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRESENTATION

3:30 PM ET

Using AI for Job Search Strategies: A Career Coach’s Honest Opinion

Presented by Alison Foo, MSc, PMP

Have you tried or considered using artificial intelligence (AI) platforms such as ChatGPT to enhance your resume or cover letter? Perhaps you used it to help you prepare for a job interview? In this presentation, Alison Foo, MSc, PMP, a career coach that specializes in the clinical and research industries, will share advantages and disadvantages of using AI platforms for job search strategies.

By attending this webinar, you will learn:

  • Introduction to AI platforms and prompt writing
  • Breakdown of job search strategies and how AI can help
  • Critical review of value and risk of using AI when applying for work


OUR SPEAKERS

Photo portrait of Trey Foskett
Trey Foskett
Trey Foskett is a co-founder and the chief executive officer of Watchmaker Genomics. Watchmaker is a life science tools company that applies advanced enzymology to improve data quality in breakthrough applications for the reading, writing, and editing of DNA and RNA—with a focus on human health-relevant areas such as oncology. Foskett has spent his career pioneering methods in directed evolution and protein engineering to fuel novel genomic applications. 
Prior to Watchmaker, Foskett served as a co-founder and the chief technology officer of Kapa Biosystems and led the company’s global commercial and scientific teams in the development of high-growth, innovative products for next-generation sequencing, qPCR, and PCR. Following the acquisition of Kapa Biosystems by Roche in 2015, Foskett served as vice president of sequencing and life science commercial operations for Roche North America. He is listed as an inventor on several granted and pending patents in the fields of enzyme engineering and sequencing.
Photo portrait of Alison Foo, MSc, PMP
Alison Foo, MSc, PMP

Alison Foo is a career, communication and leadership coach. She’s passionate about changing lives through teaching professional skills. She has worked with graduate students, newcomers, marginalized groups, and professionals from various industries. Her specialty is the clinical and research sectors.
Alison is also a clinical research professor. She teaches at Seneca College, McMaster University Continuing Education, and ACCES Employment. Previously, she worked on all phases of clinical trials and specialized in clinical trial management, clinical data management, clinical monitoring, and stakeholder management.
When she’s not working or volunteering, she’s spending time with her rescue dog, watching Asian TV, and saving recipes she’ll never use.

Photo portrait of Megan Maxwell, MS, LCGC
Megan Maxwell, MS, LCGC
Megan Maxwell, MS, LCGC, is a licensed and certified genetic counselor with 15 years of experience in the field, 10 of which have been dedicated to laboratory-based genetic counseling. She joined University Health San Antonio’s Pathology Services department in 2019, where she founded their Genetics Specialty Services division as a sole operator, and where she continues to develop the rapidly evolving division, now a team of seven in 2023. 
Prior to joining University Health, Maxwell piloted the MilSeq Project, a research collaboration between the United States Air Force and several academic institutions, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital (now Mass General Brigham), Harvard Medical School, and Baylor College of Medicine. Prior to her involvement in the MilSeq Project, Maxwell was a molecular-focused laboratory genetic counselor for Quest Diagnostics and contributed significantly to the launch of their laboratory developed non-invasive prenatal test, QNatal® Advanced.
Photo portrait of Dr. Joe Oakley
Dr. Joe Oakley

Dr. Joe Oakley is the medical director of Biomarker Development at Paige and a pathologist with board certification in anatomic, clinical, and molecular genetic pathology. His work experience ranges from academic clinical practice to the pharmaceutical and information technology industries. He has overseen and directed the development of liquid biopsy, molecular, and immunohistochemistry assays for both diagnostic and therapy predictive applications for personalization of medicine. His goal is to link mechanistic understanding of metastasis and clonal evolution in tumor pathology to personalize patient therapy and bring superior regimens to the clinic.  
Prior to joining Paige, Dr. Oakley was associate vice president/medical fellow at Eli Lilly, where he oversaw molecular pathology assay development for the diagnostic and experimental pathology group. He also previously served as a pathologist, medical director of clinical molecular diagnostics, and associate professor at Marshall University.

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