Speaker Profile
MS, CGC, Heidi Cope is a Senior Research Genetic Counselor at RTI International with expertise in genomic counseling and the use of genomic sequencing to diagnose rare diseases. Ms. Cope is the Associate Director of Early Check, a voluntary newborn screening program in North Carolina that uses genome sequencing to screen newborns for hundreds of genetic conditions. She is experienced in large-scale translational research implementation, including recruitment, consent, and return of results. Much of Ms. Cope’s career has been spent in multidisciplinary research groups seeking to use advanced technologies to find diagnoses for patients. Ms. Cope has experience utilizing genomic tools for variant annotation, prioritization, and interpretation. Before joining RTI, she was a genetic counselor at the Duke clinical site of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network. Ms. Cope is a Certified Genetic Counselor recognized by the American Board of Genetic Counseling. She is a member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, and the North Carolina Medical Genetics Association., RTI
Biography
Ms. Cope directs Early Check, a statewide genomic newborn screening research program in North Carolina conducted in partnership with the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has extensive experience evaluating genes for inclusion in genomic newborn screening, including assessing gene¬-disease validity and clinical actionability. Her expertise also includes variant interpretation, return of results, and genomic counseling. Prior to joining Early Check, she spent 17 years in genomics research at Duke University Medical Center, using advanced genomic technologies to help end diagnostic odysseys and identify diagnoses for patients.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2027 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Ed Kim, City of Hope
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Mark Daly, Broad Institute / FinnGen
• Gordon Sanghera, Oxford Nanopore Technologies
The Data Factory: Integrating Millions of Genomes for Variant Interpretation
• Chair: Stephen Montgomery, Stanford University
• Carlos Bustamante, University of Oklahoma
• Mark Daly, Broad Institute
• Manuel Rivas, Stanford University
• Mark McCarthy, Genentech
• Nilah Ioannidis, UC Berkeley / UCSC
Keynote: Biobanks and the Road Ahead in Human Genetics
• Mark Daly, Broad Institute
Beyond the Read: Long-Read Sequencing in Clinical Variant Pipeline
• Chair: Kathleen Barnes, Galatea Bio
• Gordon Sanghera, Oxford Nanopore Technologies
• Hanlee Ji, Stanford
• Barrett Bready, Nabsys
DNA to Drug, Label & Coverage
• Chair: Razelle Kurzrock, Medical College of Wisconsin
• Edward Kim, City of Hope
• Slavé Petrovski, AstraZeneca
• Wei Zhou, Broad Institute
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Scott Gottlieb, New Enterprise Associates
Fireside Chat
• Lauren Silvis, Tempus
• Scott Gottlieb, New Enterprise Associates
25+ Years of the Human Genome: From Bench to Bedside to Beyond
• Chair: Ralph Snyderman, Duke University
• Craig Venter, J. Craig Venter Institute
• Brook Byers, KPCB
• Lee Hood, Phenome Health
