Genetic variations in genes that metabolize and transport drugs in the body are known to affect the therapeutic response in different individuals by altering the absorption, distribution, metabolism, or elimination (ADME) of those drugs. Preemptively assessing multiple pharmacogenetic factors holds tremendous potential to improve treatment by understanding the effect of important genetic variants in advance, rather than waiting to test a patient for genetic markers for each individual drug at the time of prescription. Higher throughput and more comprehensive clinical genetic testing is now available, allowing clinical testing to expand from a single gene to comprehensive panels of relevant genes—a more attractive and cost-effective approach. Preemptive clinical testing for pharmacogenetic genes has been implemented in a pediatric setting. This approach has great advantages for both the patient and the physician. However, careful consideration with regard to medical data management and communication with patients and health care providers is necessary.

During this webinar, the speaker will:

Summarize recent progress and the current status of pharmacogenetic testing in the clinic

Describe how to select the most appropriate genetic testing platforms

Provide insight into implementation in clinical practice

Answer your questions live during the event!

For product or technologies related to this webinar, go to: www.affymetrix.com/DMET

Speaker bios

Ulrich Broeckel, M.D. Medical College of Wisconsin

Milwaukee, WI Dr. Broeckel graduated from medical school at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. After residency training in internal medicine and cardiology, he carried out postdoctoral research at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). He joined the faculty at MCW in 2000 and is currently a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the chief of the Section of Genomic Pediatrics. His research focuses on the identification of genes for complex diseases, the understanding of gene and genome function, and the application of genetics and genomics in clinical practice. His work combines clinical applications with functional genome analyses using induced pluripotent stem cells for disease modeling and risk prediction.

Sean Sanders, Ph.D. Science/AAAS

Washington, DC Dr. Sanders did his undergraduate training at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, UK, supported by the Wellcome Trust. Following postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health and Georgetown University, Dr. Sanders joined TranXenoGen, a startup biotechnology company in Massachusetts working on avian transgenics. Pursuing his parallel passion for writing and editing, Dr. Sanders joined BioTechniques as an editor, before joining Science/AAAS in 2006. Currently, Dr. Sanders is the Director and Senior Editor for Custom Publishing for the journal Science and Program Director for Outreach.

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