Pharmacogenomics: A New Era of Patient-Centric Care

Podcast: Science With a Twist

Episode Summary

In this Science with a Twist episode, host Jami Elliott engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Jeff Shaman, Chief Scientific Officer at Coriell Life Sciences. They delve into the fascinating world of precision medicine and pharmacogenomics, exploring how these fields are revolutionizing healthcare by tailoring treatments to individual patient characteristics.

Jeff illustrates the concept of pharmacogenomics, explaining how it combines pharmacology and genomics to understand how a person's genetic makeup affects their response to medications. This knowledge allows healthcare providers to prescribe the proper medication and dosage, reducing trial and error, improving treatment effectiveness, and minimizing potentially negative side effects. Jeff provides real-world examples, discussing the impact of pharmacogenomics on medications like Clopidogrel and statins.

The conversation concludes with a look toward the future, discussing the potential of wearable and implantable devices in healthcare. Jeff emphasizes the importance of giving healthcare professionals more tools to react in real-time and make informed decisions about patient care. He encourages listeners to explore pharmacogenomics and consider its benefits in their healthcare journey.


Video Highlight



Guest Profile


Jeff Shaman

Chief Scientfic Officer at Coriell Life Sciences

 

Noteworthy: Chief Scientific Officer at Coriell Life Sciences, Jeff supports teams in making science comprehensible and scalable to healthcare systems, providers, and patients, addressing challenges of accessibility and cost.

 

Where to find him: LinkedIn




Quotation marks
"Precision medicine is a field that really holds great promise for improving healthcare outcomes by tailoring medical treatments to the individual characteristics of each patient. It's an innovative approach to healthcare that takes into account individual variability in genes and environment and lifestyle factors when tailoring these medical treatments."

Jeff Shaman
Chief Scientific Officer
Coriell Life Sciences

Key Insights



The Power of Pharmacogenomics

 

Jeff explains how pharmacogenomics, the study of how genes affect a person's response to medications, can revolutionize healthcare. By understanding a patient's genetic makeup, healthcare providers can prescribe the right medication and dosage, reducing trial and error, improving treatment effectiveness, and minimizing side effects. This approach acknowledges that each person is unique and recognizes the complex interplay of genetics and non-genetic factors to determine health outcomes.

 

Real-World Impact of Pharmacogenomics

 

Jeff provides real-world examples of how pharmacogenomics can impact medication management. He discusses the role of the medication Clopidogrel, used with patients who are receiving a stent. He explains how genetic variations can affect the response to this medication, highlighting the importance of pharmacogenomics in ensuring effective treatment.

 

The Future of Healthcare

 

Jeff discusses the future of healthcare, including the potential of wearable and implantable devices. He emphasizes the importance of giving healthcare professionals more tools to react in real-time and make informed decisions about patient care. He also discusses how companies like Coriell Life Sciences offer comprehensive medication management programs, highlighting the importance of scalability and accessibility in the adoption of pharmacogenomics.




Quotation marks
"If we're looking to the future of healthcare, I'm excited to see how we're going to continue to meet our patients closer to home. [...] Using genetic data together with predictive analytics and improved digital health platforms, I think we're gonna remove a lot of those barriers that have been a challenge in US healthcare for a long time."

Jeff Shaman
Chief Scientific Officer
Coriell Life Sciences

Episode Highlights



Introduction to Precision Medicine and Pharmacogenomics 

Jeff introduces the concept of precision medicine and pharmacogenomics, explaining how these fields aim to improve healthcare outcomes by tailoring treatments to individual patient characteristics. He emphasizes that each person is unique and that both genetic and non-genetic factors play a role in determining health outcomes.

 

"Precision medicine is a field that really holds great promise for improving healthcare outcomes by tailoring medical treatments to the individual characteristics of each patient. It's an innovative approach to healthcare that takes into account individual variability in genes and environment and lifestyle factors when tailoring these medical treatments."


The Role of Pharmacogenomics in Personalized Medicine 

Jeff discusses the role of pharmacogenomics in personalized medicine, highlighting its potential to increase the efficacy and safety of medications. He explains how understanding a patient's genetic predispositions and molecular profiles can help healthcare professionals select the right therapy.

 

"Precision medicine enables healthcare providers to target specific disease mechanisms and their pathways, leading to more effective and personalized treatments. But by understanding that, um, an individual, a patient's genetic predispositions and their molecular profiles, those healthcare professionals can select the right therapy that's more likely to succeed and minimize those adverse reactions."


The Impact of Pharmacogenomics on Medication Management 

Jeff delves deeper into the impact of pharmacogenomics on medication management, providing examples of how genetic variations can affect the response to medications like Clopidogrel and statins. He emphasizes the importance of pharmacogenomics in ensuring effective treatment and improving patient outcomes.

 

"What happens is if you don't have, or if you've got a certain variant in your DNA, Clopidogrel doesn't work. Now that means it's not a headache or a belly ache or one of these side effects, but instead, it's a second cardiovascular event. It's a second heart attack or a second stroke. We absolutely want to avoid that. And the reason we're talking about pharmacogenomics is because we can avoid these bad outcomes."


The Future of Precision Medicine and Pharmacogenomics

Jeff discusses the future of precision medicine and pharmacogenomics, touching on the difference between reactive and proactive testing. He expresses his excitement about the future of healthcare, especially in terms of meeting patients closer to home and removing barriers through the use of genetic data, predictive analytics, and improved digital health platforms.

 

"If we're looking to the future of healthcare, I'm excited to see how we're going to continue to meet our patients closer to home. [...] Using genetic data together with predictive analytics and improved digital health platforms, I think we're gonna remove a lot of those barriers that have been a challenge in US healthcare for a long time."


Want to learn more about pharmacogenomics?

Pharmacogenomics Infographic

Blog - Ready, set, genetic test: the time is now for PGx-enabled precision medicine

Click here to request more information about Thermo Fisher Scientific Pharmacogenomics offerings.