Four experts from leading medical and academic institutions in the United States to advise on strategies for clinical implementation of Allelica’s Polygenic Risk Score (PRS), a predictive tool for determining patients with high genetic susceptibility for breast cancer, prostate cancer, coronary artery disease, Alzheimer’s, and type 2 diabetes.
Allelica, a leading genomics software company that develops polygenic risk scores (PRS) for common diseases, has expanded its scientific advisory board with the addition of four US-based experts in the fields of genomics, cardiology, and oncology. Each of these scientists has made significant contributions to the advancement of genomic medicine.
“Allelica is focused on advancing the clinical integration of Allelica’s PRS software into healthcare systems and giving patients access to precision medicine,” said Giordano Bottà, PhD, CEO of Allelica. “We are delighted to welcome four leading scientists in their respective fields to help guide Allelica in our mission to advance disease prevention through broader application of polygenic risk scores in healthcare.”
Each of the four scientists brings a unique perspective on how PRS can equip healthcare providers and clinical laboratories with cutting-edge tools to reduce the impact of common disease through genomic medicine:
- Noura S. Abul-Husn, MD, PHD is the founding chief of the Division of Genomic Medicine in the Department of Medicine, and clinical director of the Institute for Genomic Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is an associate professor of medicine and genetics and board certified in internal medicine and medical genetics. Dr. Abul-Husn is an expert in leveraging large-scale genomic data linked to electronic health records.
- Robert C. Green, MD, MPH is professor of medicine (genetics) at Harvard Medical School and a physician-scientist who directs the G2P (Genomes 2 People) Research Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Broad Institute, and Ariadne Labs. Dr. Green is internationally recognized for research and policy efforts aimed at accelerating the implementation of genomic and precision medicine.
- Gordon S. Huggins, MD is director of the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI) Center for Translational Pharmacology and Genomics, associate professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, and a practicing cardiologist. He directed the genetic ancillary study for the Look AHEAD trial, led the NHLBI Heart Failure Network program at Tufts and directed participation in the Dilated Cardiomyopathy Genetics Consortium. His research interest is focused on making scientific discoveries relevant to human diseases that may translate to new biomarkers or therapies.
- Aleksandar Rajkovic, MD, PhD, is UCSF’s chief genomics officer, professor of pathology, and the medical director and chief of the Center for Genetic and Genomic Medicine in the UCSF Health System. Prior to his position at UCSF, he was the chief of Medical and Laboratory Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where he oversaw Pittsburgh molecular genomic laboratories as well as adult/cancer clinical services.
In addition to these US-based experts, Allelica’s international Advisory Board includes PRS pioneer, Professor Bjarni Vilhjálmsson, from Denmark. Bjarni is one of the most cited scientists in PRS method development and has made major contributions to the advancement of PRS through the development of the LD-pred and other computational methods.
Additional information about Allelica’s advisors and management team can be found on the company’s website.
What is a polygenic risk score?
A PRS is a measurement of a person’s risk of disease based on their genes and is based on combining the effects of many genetic variants across the genome. This information can be used to stratify individuals based on their risk of disease. By combining PRS with conventional risk factors, Allelica aims to make precision medicine available at scale.
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