麻豆果冻传媒

New Clinical Genomics Program Blends Stanford鈥檚 Capabilities and Expertise to Advance Patient Care

For Release: February 6, 2014

PALO ALTO, CA 鈥 A new pilot program in clinical genomics will allow a small group of patients at Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford to have their DNA deciphered to help doctors with diagnosis and treatment.

The goal of the program, the Clinical Genomics Service, is to help doctors better diagnose and treat genetic disorders. In the pilot phase, genomic testing will be limited to patients with 鈥渕ystery鈥 diseases (typically children), patients with unexplained hereditary cancer risk, patients with inherited cardiovascular or neurological disease, and those with severe, unexplained drug reactions. Potential participants must be referred by a physician and the Clinical Genomics team will then determine whether patient cases are suitable for sequencing.

鈥淚 am very excited to bring the pioneering work of Stanford genomic scientists directly to the bedside of our patients,鈥 said Euan Ashley, MCRP, DPhil, associate professor of medicine and of genetics and co-director of the new Clinical Genomics Service. 鈥淏ecause of the foresight and support of our leadership, we have a remarkable opportunity to bring world-leading Stanford science to Stanford patients fast and first.鈥

Advances in genome sequencing

Over the past several years, genome sequencing has demonstrated great promise, particularly in cases of rare diseases, where patients and families may have a genetic condition that has eluded diagnosis. Already, hundreds of families with genetic diseases have benefited from the power of this technology to discover the underlying cause of their condition. In some cases, identifying a genetic cause of disease may also provide important information related to personalized therapy and care management. Stanford's service will use a highly integrated approach that includes professional genetic counseling, the most advanced genome sequencing technology available and expert interpretation by molecular genetic pathologists and other physicians with expertise in this emerging and complex field.

This new service in clinical genomics will be closely tied to other diagnostic genetic testing currently offered at the two hospitals. Those programs, which include molecular genetic pathology, cytogenetics, and clinical biochemical genetics, have an outstanding record of compliance with the extensive regulatory requirements for diagnostic genetic testing.

鈥淪tanford has a special wealth of information and analysts,鈥 said Jason Merker, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pathology, the service鈥檚 co-director. 鈥淲e involved physicians, health care providers, bioethicists, bioinformaticians and other researchers, inviting everyone to voice their thoughts for the broadest, deepest discussions possible on how to apply these new methods and knowledge to clinical care.鈥

Michael Snyder, PhD, the Director of the Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine (SCGPM) and Chair of the Department of Genetics, as well as members of the SCGPM, played a pivotal role in foundation of the Clinical Genomics Service. Also, included in those discussions were Carlos Bustamante, PhD, a Stanford professor of genetics who was named a 2010 MacArthur Fellow for his work in genetic sequencing, and Michael Cherry, PhD, Stanford associate professor of genetics and principal investigator in several genome database projects.

鈥淭his new service can represent the best definition of the term personalized medicine,鈥 said Amir Dan Rubin, president and CEO of Stanford Hospital & Clinics. 鈥淭he collaboration of our world-class experts in patient care and scientific research will advance the leading edge of knowledge in genome sequencing, bringing greater value, in the most responsible way, to what we offer our patients. Our goal is to use this new technology for early and accurate diagnosis and treatment for patients now 鈥 and to learn and share that knowledge with medicine鈥檚 new future.鈥

Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine, said the Clinical Genomics Service exemplifies the bench-to-bedside philosophy at the heart of 麻豆果冻传媒. 鈥淚t will serve as a bridge to better connect the groundbreaking genetic science of our laboratories with the patient care of our hospitals and clinics,鈥 Minor said. 鈥淭he efforts of Drs. Ashley and Merker and their team are helping to shape a medical future in which disease risk can be more accurately predicted and treatments better tailored to individual patients.鈥

Christopher Dawes, president and CEO of Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford, sees the new service as a logical extension of the kind of care established since that hospital鈥檚 opening 鈥 and its particular intellectual environment. 鈥淭he genetics revolution is taking off in Silicon Valley, much like the information technology revolution has over the past few decades,鈥 said Dawes. 鈥淲e are very fortunate that our Stanford scientists work so closely with our pediatricians and obstetricians in conducting leading research in the field of genetics. 鈥

Stanford鈥檚 Clinical Genomics Service joins a small group of other medical centers that now offer a variety of sequencing options. In 2010, Ashley and Stephen Quake, PhD, Lee Otterson Professor of Bioengineering, were the first in the world to use a healthy person鈥檚 complete genome sequence to predict risk for disease and anticipate reaction to several common medications. These new genomic services are the first wave to test this new knowledge. 鈥淎s people who are in the trenches, I hope we can temper appropriate optimism with realism,鈥 said Ashley.

Authors

Media Contacts:
Ashley Georgian
(650) 725-6625
ageorgian@stanfordmed.org

Lisa Kim
(650) 723-6696
likim@stanfordmed.org

About 麻豆果冻传媒 Children's Health

麻豆果冻传媒 Children鈥檚 Health, with聽Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford聽at its center, is the Bay Area鈥檚 largest health care system exclusively dedicated to children and expectant mothers. Our network of care includes more than 65聽locations聽across Northern California and more than 85 locations in the U.S. Western region.聽Along with Stanford Health Care and the Stanford School of Medicine, we are part of聽, an ecosystem harnessing the potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education, and clinical care to improve health outcomes around the world. We are a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the community through meaningful outreach programs and services and providing necessary medical care to families, regardless of their ability to pay. Discover more at聽stanfordchildrens.org.

About Stanford Hospital & Clinics

Stanford Hospital & Clinics, located in Palo Alto, California with multiple facilities throughout the region, is internationally renowned for leading edge and coordinated care in cancer, neurosciences, cardiovascular medicine, surgery, organ transplant, medicine specialties and primary care. Stanford Hospital is an academic medical institution of Stanford University School of Medicine. Throughout its history, Stanford has been at the forefront of discovery and innovation, as researchers and clinicians work together to improve health, alleviate suffering, and translate medical breakthroughs into better ways to deliver patient care. Stanford Hospital & Clinics: Healing humanity through science and compassion, one patient at a time. For more information, visit: