Speaker Profile
Ph.D., Senior Principal Research Scientist, Genomics Research Center, Abbvie
Biography
Aparna Vasanthakumar is a Senior Principal Research Scientist in the Genomics Research Center in AbbVie, where she directs pharmacogenomic and exploratory genomic studies in the Neuroscience, Specialty Medicine, and Virology spaces. She was the 2019 chair of the Alzheimers disease neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) private partners Scientific Board (PPSB), which brings together for-profit and non-profit institutions that provide advice from the industry scientific perspective on the ADNI consortium. She continues to lead the ADNI methylation working group, overseeing the planning and analysis of DNA methylation data from ADNI subjects. She also served as the Programing Chair in the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART) Alliance of Women Researchers (AWARE) Professional Interest Area from 2020-2022. Before joining AbbVie in 2015, Aparna was a Research Assistant Professor at The University of Chicago where she studied the impact of epigenetics in hematopoietic stem cell development.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2025 Silicon Valley
Track Co-Chairs:
Yoel Sadovsky, UPMC
C. Noel Bairey Merz, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Program Theme: Women's Health Innovation.
- PMWC 2025 Award Ceremony
Pioneer Honoree: Nanette K. Wenger, Emory University
Luminary Honoree: Diana Bianchi, NIH
- Keynote: Prenatal Cell-Free DNA Sequencing and Incidental Detection of Maternal Cancer
- Diane Bianchi, NIH
- Keynote: Understanding the Journey : Women and Coronary Heart Disease
- Nanette K. Wenger, Emory University
- Innovations in Alzheimer's and Women's Health
Chair: TBA
- Aparna Vasanthakumar, Abbvie
- Duygu Tosun-Turgut, UCSF
- Innovations in Women's Cardiovascular Health: From Research to Practice
Chair: Noel Bairey Merz, Cedars-Sinai
- Janet Wright, CDC
- Christine Albert, Cedars-Sinai
- Garima Sharma, Inova Health System
- Roxana Mehran, Mount Sinai - From Fertility to Pregnancy
Chair: Yoel Sadovsky, Magee Women's Research Inst.
- Linda Giudice, UCSF (Endometriosis and its Role in Fertility)
- Paolo Rinaudo, UCSF (Harnessing Data to Enhance Fertility Research and Treatments)
- Vittorio Sebastiano, Stanford (Stem Cells in Fertility and Aging: Bridging the Gap)
- Ruth Bunker Lathi, Stanford (Understanding Miscarriage: Differentiating Maternal and Fetal Causes to Improve Outcomes)
- Aleksandar Rajkovic, UCSF (Unraveling the Genetics Behind Uterine Fibroids: Implications for Women's Health)
- PMWC Showcase
- Jeremy Grushcow, Juniper Genomics
- Harnessing Pre-Pregnancy Data to Predict Pregnancy Health
Chair: Yoel Sadovsky, Magee Women's Research Inst.
- Louise Laurent, UCSD (Advancements in RNA-based Biomarker Discovery for gestational diseases)
- Mike Snyder, Stanford (The Role of Biological Clocks in Pregnancy: Insights from Multi-Omics Analysis)
- Alison Paquette, Seattle Children's Research Institute (Multi-Omics Analysis of the Placenta: Unlocking New Insights into Pregnancy Health)
