These days, everyone is talking about precision medicine. What does it mean as the concept moves from theory to clinical practice in rheumatology? How precise can therapy and care become when rheumatic disease mechanisms and outcomes are often hard to predict? Where do such factors as cost, comorbidities, psychosocial aspects of care and patient preferences come in?
The many issues and latest scientific developments in the emerging area of precision medicine in rheumatology will be discussed during this year’s ARP Pre-Meeting Course, Precision Medicine: Looking to the Future, from 1–4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9, during the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
The ARP Planning Committee designed a thought-provoking afternoon of talks on how to harness precision medicine’s power to prevent and deliver more effective rheumatologic care, including diagnosis and treatment of often complex conditions. Faculty will explore genetics, the social and behavioral aspects of chronic disease and its care, disease biomarker research findings and the latest tools and technologies rheumatology professionals may use to tailor patient treatment plans.
The Lineup
The afternoon kicks off with Translating Biomarker Testing into Clinical Decision Making, a presentation from Marvin Fritzler, PhD, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where he is engaged in research in clinical immunology and directing autoantibody testing through the Mitogen Advanced Diagnostics Laboratory. The presentation will include information on testing novel biomarkers in immune-mediated diseases, as well as the drivers of, and barriers to, translating biomarkers to real-time clinical care.
The second presentation, Pharmacogenomics: Precision Health and Drug Response, will feature Michelle Petri, MD, MPH, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and director of the Hopkins Lupus Center. This talk will explore how the latest genomic science discoveries, which are driven by big data’s treasure trove of information on individual patients’ responses to therapeutic agents, will enable clinicians to deliver more targeted, effective treatment plans and potentially avoid delays that lead to unfavorable outcomes.
Wrapping up this stimulating pre-meeting course will be a presentation by Patricia Katz, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, where she is also co-investigator of the Resource-Based Center for the Advancement of Precision Medicine in Rheumatology. This presentation, People Are Complicated: Psychosocial and Behavioral Considerations, will explore the real-life applications of precision medicine, and how unexpected detours or outcomes may prompt on-your-toes, decision-making situations.
Ready to ramp up your knowledge of precision medicine in rheumatologic care? Register today for this exciting pre-meeting course.
Join Us at the Annual Meeting
The 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting, Nov. 8–13, in Atlanta is your gateway to global rheumatology education. View the Online Program to find out more about the opportunities for professional development and networking, and obtain firsthand access to the latest rheumatology research and clinical applications. Register now, and don’t miss out.
