Speaker Profile
Director, Computational Methods at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Broad Inst.
Biography
Lee Lichtenstein provides scientific and technical leadership for the development, curation, and large-scale delivery of 'omic data to the research community. He led multidisciplinary teams responsible for producing and releasing one of the world's largest 'omic datasets through the NIH All of Us Research Program, including the June 2026 release of genomic data from more than 535,000 participants. His work spans the coordination and development of genome analysis pipelines, quality control, validation, data integration, and the generation of auxiliary genomic resources that enable broad scientific use. He has extensive experience guiding complex collaborations across engineering, computational, bioinformatics, and research organizations while ensuring that data products are robust, reproducible, and accessible. He also oversees community-facing deployment, documentation, and user support of 'omic data, helping translate researcher feedback into continuous improvements in data quality, usability, and scientific impact.
Talk
Bigger Data, Better VUS Resolution: Scaling Variant Interpretation
Clinical variant of uncertain significance (VUS) classification is slow and least accurate for underrepresented populations. All of Us's biobank-scale, diverse genomic and phenotype data increase speed and accuracy via the new Variant Interpretation Application (VIA). Without coding, clinical interpreters can query population frequencies, phenotypes, zygosity, and phasing for faster diagnoses.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2027 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Wendy Chung, Boston Children's / Harvard
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Wendy Chung, Boston Children's / Harvard (Pioneer)
• Eric Lander, Broad Institute (Pioneer)
Featured Speakers
• Wendy Chung, Boston Children's / Harvard
• Eric Lander, Broad Institute
• Zhanzhi (Mike) Hu, Project GUARDIAN / Columbia
• Tippi MacKenzie, UCSF
• Ryan Taft, Genetic Alliance
• Heidi Cope, RTI International
• Michele Caggana, NY State DOH Wadsworth Center
• Elad Ziv, UCSF
• Scott Grosse, University of Minnesota
• Mike Talkowski, Mass General / Harvard
• F. Sessions Cole, WashU
• Lee Hood, Phenome Health / ISB
• Trey Ideker, UC San Diego
• Ralph Snyderman, Duke
• Craig Mundie, Mundie & Associates
• George Church, Harvard
Beyond the Exome: Solving Undiagnosed Disease
The next layer of rare-disease diagnosis beyond standard sequencing.
Population Genomic Screening
From newborn sequencing to implementation, evidence, economics, and equity.
Structural Variants & Long Reads
Solving cases missed by conventional sequencing.
Launching the Human Phenome Initiative
From genome to phenome as a global health infrastructure challenge.
Data-Driven Health
AI, longitudinal data, and personalized clinical medicine.
Engineering the Future of Health
Genomes, cells, and engineering biology as precision medicine moves upstream.
PMWC Hall of Impact
Previous Speakers Include
Nobel laureates, technology founders, regulators, CEOs and scientific pioneers who have taken the PMWC stage.
