Focus Magazine - Summer 2014 - (Page 42)

MEDICAL&DIAGNOSTICDEVICES Personalized Medicine: The Coming Revolution I By Clayton Dahle This age of personalized medicine is starting to reshape healthcare. 42 T he last decade or so has seen some remarkable advancements in life sciences, driven mainly by discoveries and innovation associated with DNA and the rapidly expanding field of genomics. Some of these advancements have already become quite common in popular culture. For example what would modern crime dramas be without that bit of blockbuster DNA evidence that implicates or exonerates a suspect. Or consider how much less ambiguous paternity issues have become now that a trip to the drug store can provide the means to remove virtually any doubt of one's parentage. Then there is the rapidly expanding field of genetic-based genealogy and its ability to make connections across continents, cultures and race with astonishing ease. Indeed, in the 13 years since the first complete draft of the human genome was published, our understanding of how life operates at the most fundamental level has accelerated, resulting in many new products and services that are driving revolutionary changes in healthcare, pharmacology, agriculture, forensic science and many other fields. Fueled by Innovation The catalyst behind these remarkable changes has been a series of technical and scientific innovations that have dramatically reduced the cost and simplified the process of analyzing DNA. One of the more recent milestones in this long series of innovations was the achievement of the "thousand dollar genome." Using a technology called next-gen sequencing, scientists and lab technicians in about three days can now accurately define all 3.2 billion base pairs in a single human genome for less than $1,000. By contrast, the original human genome took 11 years and 3 billion dollars to achieve essentially the same thing. With the dramatic reduction in cost, determining one's complete genetic picture will now be as affordable as an MRI or any number of other routine medical procedures. However, with an accurate baseline understanding of our own genomic makeup, a whole new array of valuable new health data will become available to us. For example, genetic data indicating predisposition to certain diseases in combination with family health history could provide a much better basis for us to make essential lifestyle decisions. Basic genomic data could also be used to FOCUS | SUMMER 2014 | www.L-TEN.org http://www.L-TEN.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Focus Magazine - Summer 2014

Focus Magazine
From the President: Clarity, Community & Career
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Guest Editor: Your Network and the Connection Ecomony
Front of the Room: Getting Your Head Right
Neuroscience: Neuroliteracy
Introducing LTEN: The Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network
Communities of Practice: Learning in Action
Are We Living in a Post-LMS World?
Member Solutions: Measuring the Impact of Training
Selling as a Team Sport
From the Training Room to the Board Room
The Science of Changing Sales Behavior
Personalized Medicine: The Coming Revolution
Virtual How: Trends in Selling Models
Member News
Ad Index
Focus Contacts
5 Questions with Nigel Brooksby

Focus Magazine - Summer 2014