2014 Archived Content
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Monday, September 15
7:30 am Main Conference Registration and Morning Coffee
8:30 Welcome and Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Michael Dorschner, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Pathology and Adjunct Professor, Genome Sciences and Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington; Director, Northwest Clinical Genomics Laboratory, Center for Precision Diagnostics
8:40 Northwest BioTrust: Consented Specimens, Medical Data and Patient Registry
John T. Slattery, Ph.D., Vice Dean, Research and Graduate Education, School of Medicine and Professor, Pharmacology and Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
The guiding principles and formation of Northwest BioTrust, a system that collects and distributes consented medical data and specimens, and identifies patients interested in participating in clinical research from patients encountering the UW Medicine and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, will be discussed.
9:25 The National Biomarkers Development Alliance (NBDA): Advancing Biomarkers Development for Precision Medicine Beginning with Biospecimens
Carolyn Compton, M.D., Ph.D., CMO, National Biomarkers Development Alliance; CMO, Complex Adaptive Systems Institute; Adjunct Professor, Pathology, Mayo Medical School; Professor, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University
The development of new robust biomarkers is essential to the realization of the vision of precision medicine. At present, the high costs and failure rates in biomarker development represent a significant roadblock to medical progress. The biomarker development process itself requires re-engineering, beginning with standards for biospecimens, to reduce the massive inefficiencies, fragmentation and failure rates that now characterize the system. This can only be accomplished through broad coordination of effort and consensus, which is the goal of the NBDA.
10:10 Coffee Break
10:30 Integrating the Principles of Preventative and Personalized Medicine to Advance Wellness
Nathan D. Price, Ph.D., Associate Director, Institute for Systems Biology
Radical, exponentially accelerating technological advancements are enabling individuals to gain greater control over their health than ever before. These endeavors focus on unlocking the power of an expanding array of scientific discoveries and deliver simple, actionable information to each individual to maximize health and minimize disease – even eliminating it at its earliest stages. I will discuss the beginnings of our ISB 100K wellness project aimed at providing a proof-of-concept study for these new approaches to optimizing wellness and minimizing disease.
11:15 Avatar Models of Rare Pediatric Cancer: An International Resource
James M. Olson, M.D., Ph.D., Member, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Professor, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University of Washington; Attending Physician, Seattle Children’s Hospital; Founder, Presage Biosciences and Blaze Bioscience
To enable drug discovery and development tailored to pediatric brain tumors, we created > 30 PDX models (avatars) of pediatric brain cancer. Fred Hutchinson Center’s lab team implanted surgically resected patient cells into mouse brains typically within hours of surgery. The tumors in mice were propagated through multiple passages and extensive genomic profiling was conducted to relate the avatars to the original patient sample. With philanthropic support, these models are available to investigators globally to enable discovery and translational science.
12:00 pm Close of Session
12:15 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available) or Enjoy Lunch on Your Own
2:00 Chairperson’s Remarks
Claire Zhu, Ph.D., Program Director, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health
2:05 Application of Lean/Six Sigma Practices to Biobank Operations
Devon D. Kelly, Director, OHSU Knight BioLibrary, Oregon Health & Science University, Knight Cancer Institute
You’ve set up your storage units, are consenting patients and tracking your specimens in your database—now what? As a key component to self-sustainability, maximizing the use of your resources is a good place to start. Experiences in utilizing Lean/Six Sigma tools to assess and improve repository practices, from consenting through management and distribution, will be presented.
2:35 The PLCO Biorepository: Management, Productivity and Cost
Claire Zhu, Ph.D., Program Director, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health
The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial Biorepository is a premier research resource for cancer etiology and early detection biomarkers. Maintaining and managing a successful biorepository is a complex and challenging enterprise. This presentation highlights the PLCO experience encompassing the entire life-cycle of a biorepository. The audience will have an opportunity to learn, from one of the largest and most actively utilized biorepository resources in the U.S., the various aspects of biorepository management.
3:05 Are You Prepared for the Next Research Question? Optimising the Value of Your Biospecimens Collections
Katheryn Shea, Vice President, Bioservices, Precision for Medicine
The clinical trials you’re running today can be the key to the next discovery. This talk will cover the essentials required to consent, collect and characterize your biospecimens for future use scenarios to streamline your biomarker research, reduce costs and optimize quality results and data.
3:35 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
4:15 The DISCUSS Project: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines from Previously Collected Research Biospecimens and Informed Consent: Points to Consider
Geoffrey P. Lomax, Ph.D., Senior Officer, Standards Working Group, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Concerns exist about certain features of iPSC (stem cell) research (ubiquitous source material and pluripotency) with the rapid growth in translational initiatives and commercial partnerships. To address these concerns, the DISCUSS Project has developed draft recommendations for the use of existing research biospecimens for the derivation and distribution of stem cell lines. The goal of the DISCUSS Project is to work with our partners to develop consensus for the use of existing research specimens for iPSC derivation, banking and distribution.
4:45 Pediatric Biobanks: Adolescent Attitudes towards Biobanking Consenting
Suzanne Vercauteren, M.D., Ph.D., FRCPC, Head, Division of Hematopathology, BC Children’s Hospital and Clinical Assistant Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia
Biobanking is a growing field and Research Ethics Boards (REBs) are progressively more involved in ensuring that this practice is carried out with best interests to its participants. These issues are especially complicated in the pediatric setting, where parents and guardians are responsible for the initial consent agreement of their children. Our research investigates what adolescents think about the concept of biobanking and ethical issues surrounding pediatric biobanking. The results will contribute to future ethical decision-making around pediatric biobanking.
5:15 What Is an Actionable Item? Reporting Back Unanticipated Results
Wylie Burke, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington
Biomedical research increasingly has the potential to generate unanticipated findings that might have personal or clinical value for research participants, sparking interest in the development of frameworks and mechanisms for returning individual results. “Actionability” has emerged as an important criterion in this process. However, actionability may be viewed differently by different stakeholders, and judgments about actionability may differ with context. Optimal policies will require empiric data, ethical analysis, and multi-stakeholder deliberation.
5:45 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
6:30 Close of Day
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