UPCI Plans March 10 Cancer Genomics Syposium

Nancy E. Davidson

The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) will hold a full-day symposium, “Cancer Genomics and the Impact of Next-Generation Sequencing,” on March 10 in the Herberman Conference Center, UPMC Cancer Pavilion, UPMC Shadyside, 5150 Centre Ave.

Nancy E. Davidson, director of UPCI and UPMC Cancer Centers and an internationally renowned expert in breast cancer research and treatment, will deliver the introductory remarks for the March 10 event, the second of three symposia celebrating UPCI’s 25th Anniversary

Topics and presenters for the March 10 symposium organized by Michael Becich, chair and professor, Department of Biomedical Infomatics, follow.

• “Mining the Cancer Methylome,” Peter W. Laird, associate professor and director, USC Epigenome Center, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center;

• “Adventures in the Cancer Genome,” Richard K. Wilson, director, The Genome Center at Washington University in St. Louis;

• “Whole Genome Approaches to Identify Pharmacogenomic Markers in Oncology,” M. Eileen Dolan, professor of medicine in the Section of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Chicago;

• “Personalized Genomic Analyses of Human Cancer,” Victor E. Velculescu, associate professor of oncology and director of cancer genetics for the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins, co-director of cancer biology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center;

• “Personalized Genomic Medicine: The Future is Now,” Mark S. Boguski, associate professor, Center for Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, and the Department of Pathology in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; and

• “Structural Rearrangements in Breast Cancer Genomes,” Adrian V. Lee, visiting professor of pharmacology and chemical biology, director for the Womens Cancer Research Center at UPCI and Magee-Womens Research Institute.

The event is free and is open to Pitt faculty, students, and staff. For more information and to register, visit www.upci.upmc.edu/symposia/cancer_genomics/ or call 412-623-3205. Deadline to register is March 3.

The final symposium will be held on May 5 and is titled “Personalized Medicine, in Honor of Jeffery Shogan, MD.” Shogan (MED ’82), who died in January 2010 at age 56, was a clinical professor of medicine in Pitt’s School of Medicine and the director of business services and chief business officer for UPMC Cancer Centers.