Catriona Jamieson

Biography
Catriona Jamieson is a leading physician scientist who has specialized in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and leukemia. She discovered missplicing, RNA hyperediting, and splice isoform switching as mechanisms governing human cancer stem cell maintenance in selective niches. These discoveries have helped to shed light on the underlying mechanisms of cancer and have opened up new avenues for targeted therapies. Dr. Jamieson's contributions to the field of precision medicine include her pivotal role in the rescue and development of the JAK inhibitor fedratinib for the treatment of myelofibrosis. Additionally, she is known for her unwavering dedication to advancing innovative therapies and her outstanding leadership as the director of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute at UCSD and as a co-founder of Impact Biosciences and Aspera Biomedicines.

Judy Faulkner

Biography
Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of Epic Systems, has significantly impacted precision medicine by pioneering the integration of genomic data into electronic health records, notably through Epics Aura platform, which enables tailored treatment strategies based on individual genetic profiles. Under her leadership, the Cosmos initiative has facilitated the aggregation of extensive de-identified patient data, substantially advancing clinical research and informed medical decision-making. Additionally, by embedding advanced AI technologies into Epic's systems, she has streamlined clinical workflows, aiding healthcare providers in documentation and patient communication. Epics extensive global presence, managing hundreds of millions of patient records, reflects Faulkner's profound influence on the healthcare landscape, further highlighted by her philanthropic commitment to reducing health disparities and improving healthcare accessibility.

Alexis C. Komor

Biography
Alexis C. Komor is a pioneering genome‑editing researcher who co‑developed the first CRISPR base editors with David Liu at the Broad Institute. Her work established base editing as a new class of genome engineering tools that enable precise single‑nucleotide changes in DNA without double‑strand breaks, laying the foundation for correcting disease‑causing point mutations with high precision. She continues to lead efforts to translate these innovations into direct in vivo therapeutics, including strategies to deliver base editors via mRNA and other nucleic‑acid platforms to repair genes within patients’ cells. As her work established the scientific foundation of Beam Therapeutics, Komor has helped drive the clinical development of base editing, underscoring the broad impact of her work on programmable gene editing and precision medicine. Her groundbreaking contributions are influencing a new generation of in vivo RNA and gene‑based therapies (spanning mRNA, siRNA, and antisense oligonucleotide modalities) and inspiring novel small‑molecule approaches to treat genetic diseases.

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Talk
Development and Characterization of Precision Genome Editing Tools
Base editors facilitate the introduction of point mutations into the genome of live cells with high efficiencies and precision via targeted nucleobase chemistry. In this talk I will describe my lab's efforts to develop new base editing methodologies and their application to correcting disease-causing mutations.

David Ledbetter

Biography
Dr. Ledbetter is an internationally recognized expert in Genomics and Precision Medicine, focusing his early research efforts on discovering the genetic causes of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders, and the translation of new genomics technologies into clinically useful genetic tests for early diagnosis and intervention. He served as EVP and Founding Chief Scientific Officer at Geisinger for ten years (2010-2021), leading their ground-breaking genomics program-the first in the world to return medically actionable results to patient-participants.He held academic and leadership positions at Emory University, the University of Chicago, and Baylor College of Medicine, and is currently Professor at the Florida State University, where he is leading a new statewide pediatric genetics network funded by the State of Florida through the Sunshine Genetics Act to move whole genome sequencing into universal newborn screening for hundreds of rare diseases. He is a graduate of Tulane University and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Texas-Austin.

Ludmil Alexandrov

Biography
I am a Professor at UC San Diego, holding joint appointments in the Department of Bioengineering and the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. My scientific pursuits focus on harnessing the vast information contained in large-scale omics datasets to deepen our understanding of the mutagenic and non-mutagenic processes that drive cancer initiation and progression. I aim to leverage this knowledge to identify novel cancer prevention strategies and to engineer innovative approaches for targeted treatment. Additionally, I am passionate about developing next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) approaches to address inequalities in precancer interception, cancer diagnosis, and cancer care.

Alysson Muotri

Biography
Dr. Muotri earned a BSc in Biological Sciences from the State University of Campinas in 1995 and a Ph.D. in Genetics in 2001 from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. He moved to the Salk Institute as Pew Latin America Fellow in 2002 for a postdoctoral training in the fields of neuroscience and stem cell biology. He has been a Professor at the School of Medicine, University of California in San Diego since late 2008. His research focuses on modeling neurological diseases, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, using human induced pluripotent stem cells and brain organoids. He has received several awards, including the prestigious NIH Directors New Innovator Award, NARSAD, Emerald Foundation Young Investigator Award, Surugadai Award from Tokyo University, Rock Star of Innovation from CONNECT, NIH EUREKA Award, among others.

Catriona Jamieson

Biography
Catriona Jamieson is a leading physician scientist who has specialized in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and leukemia. She discovered missplicing, RNA hyperediting, and splice isoform switching as mechanisms governing human cancer stem cell maintenance in selective niches. These discoveries have helped to shed light on the underlying mechanisms of cancer and have opened up new avenues for targeted therapies. Dr. Jamieson's contributions to the field of precision medicine include her pivotal role in the rescue and development of the JAK inhibitor fedratinib for the treatment of myelofibrosis. Additionally, she is known for her unwavering dedication to advancing innovative therapies and her outstanding leadership as the director of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute at UCSD and as a co-founder of Impact Biosciences and Aspera Biomedicines.