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New Innovations in Health Care and Genetics Discussed at UM’s Global Business Forum

1/21/2009

Dean Goldschmidt, Bart Chernow, Jeffery Vance and others make panel presentations at inaugural event

Genomic medicine, the segment of health care science in which genes that cause common diseases, can positively change the face of health care on a global scale. The Miller School, under the leadership of Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., has dedicated significant resources to the discipline, evidenced by the creation of the Miami Institute for Human Genomics and the world-class scientists and physicians who lead it.

Goldschmidt spoke about the enormous potential of genomic medicine in a panel session, “The Global Implications of Genomics,” on Friday, Jan. 16 at the Global Business Forum, a two-day event at the Coral Gables campus hosted by UM’s School of Business. The event brought together U.S. and international leaders from fields such as business, education, and health care, and included Jeffery Vance, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chairman of the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics at the Miller School, who joined Goldschmidt for the genomics presentation. Vance, along with Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., the scientist responsible for identifying genes that raise risk for age-related macular degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease, lead the Miami Institute for Human Genomics.

“Many people are not functional after 70, mainly due to chronic illnesses,” Goldschmidt said, adding that recent discoveries indicate that through genomics, more personalized medicine, where one’s genes warn of risks for certain diseases and possible side effects if certain medicines are taken, is in the future. “This is not a faraway pie in the sky. We are getting close.”

Vance brought attendees up-to-date on improvements in the field, such as much faster and less costly DNA sequencing. But, he cautioned, as scientists and commercial entities enter “the race to create the $1,000 DNA test,” those efficiencies bring challenges, especially for consumers who might not know where to go with their new DNA profiles. Primary care doctors may resist the new knowledge because of fear of liability. Medical students will also need to be trained as the science unfolds worldwide.

A day earlier at the Global Business Forum, Bart Chernow, M.D., vice provost for technology advancement and vice president for special programs and resource strategy, along with Richard J. Cote, M.D.,  professor of pathology and urology at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, presented “Translating Medical Discoveries from Concept to Commercialization.”

Chernow covered topics dealing with the development and transfer of new therapies and medical technologies to patients and the issues – intellectual property, teamwork, environment, investment, and others – that come with the ventures. Cote’s talk concentrated on the emergence of nanotechnology as a frontier for new developments in medicine.

Chernow was also part of a second panel session, “Global Impact: Transforming Health Care through Biotechnology and Advances in Medicine,” along with Jay S. Skyler, M.D., professor of medicine, and associate director of the Diabetes Research Institute at the Miller School.