Do you own your genetic identity?
WHAT: Health privacy is a serious concern, but as genetic testing becomes more common, access to your genetic information raises questions the healthcare industry has never faced before. It is particularly important that we begin to address these questions now that genomic information is being collected to improve the diagnosis and treatment of children.
Experts are gathering at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics to begin laying the foundation for nationwide consensus on this issue at its annual Pediatric Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine Conference in Kansas City.
The conference is part of ongoing efforts of the Children's Mercy Center for Personalized Medicine and Therapeutic Innovation to apply genomic testing and clinical analytics to enhance the safety and effectiveness of medication used in children, our most vulnerable population. The center's research and clinical applications are successfully reducing adverse reactions in patients, developing genetic diagnostic tests for children, identifying medications that can cause children harm, and developing models to prevent unnecessary avoidance of medications that patients can in fact use safely.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 30 - Friday, April 1, 2011
More information:
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS:
Stephen F. Kingsmore, MD
Director, Children's Mercy Genome Center
Dr. Kingsmore, a physician-scientist, is currently leading a new center that will make interpreted genome sequence information available to physicians, researchers and patients.
John Lantos, MD
Director, Children's Mercy Bioethics Center
Dr. Lantos' work in bioethics covers a broad spectrum of ethical issues related to neonatal and pediatric care, life science research, organ transplants, end-of-life decision making, physician/patient relationships and resource allocation.
J. Steven Leeder, PharmD, PhD
Division Chief, Clinical Pharmacology & Medical Toxicology
Dr. Leeder is actively involved in pediatric pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics research, with particular interest in investigating the pharmacogenetic determinants of susceptibility to drug-induced birth defects and adverse drug reactions and characterizing the changes in drug metabolizing enzyme activities that occur as children grow and develop.
Stephen Spielberg, MD, PhD
Director, Center for Personalized Medicine & Therapeutic Innovation
In addition to leading the Personalized Medicine efforts at Children's Mercy, Dr. Spielberg is also Principal Investigator for the Institute for Pediatric Innovation, a non-profit organization focused on developing improved medicines and devices to meet the therapeutic needs of sick children.
Additional contact:
Carin Ganz
GolinHarris
(212) 373-6002
cganz@golinharris.com
Provided by GolinHarris NY
