USciences Bulletin - University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

Continued from page 9
“The earliest utility of using personal
genetic information is going to be in
making decisions about drug dosing.”
- Dr. Michael F. Christman
“What needs to happen is the
development of evidentiary standards
if [personalized medicine] is going to
become a part of standard practice.”
- Dr. Amalia M. Issa
“It’s progress and promise,
not hype and disappointment.”
- Dr. Stephen Kimmel
“I think we need to make a really
concerted effort to test and study the
effects of genetics. We’re not quite
to the point where we can go to a
pharmacist and hand them our DNA
sequence for a prescription.”
But it might be close.
“What’s happened is really staggering,”
Dr. Christman said. “[The] cost to
[map genes] has really come down.
And it will have profound implications
clinically. This information is going to
be making its way into a clinical setting
very soon whether we’re ready or not.
It’s a great time to be a pharmacist
because their importance to the
healthcare system is about to explode.
The earliest utility of using personal
genetic information is going to be in
making decisions about drug dosing.”
A nationally and internationally
recognized expert in the field of
personalized medicine, Dr. Issa
discussed the public health and policy
challenges presented by growing
consumer and insurance company
engagement.
“What needs to happen is the
development of evidentiary standards
if [personalized medicine] is going to
become a part of standard practice,”
said Dr. Issa, who founded the P 2 MT 2
in 2001 as one of the first centers
focused on pharmacogenomics and
personalized medicine. She joined
the University in 2011 and brought
P 2 MT 2 with her.
Through the program, Dr. Issa and a
team of scientists and researchers are
actively engaged in research aimed at
the effective translation of the science
of pharmacogenomics and personalized
medicine from the laboratory bench
to the bedside and to the community
and policy. Dr. Issa has developed a
unique area of translational research
focused on pharmacogenomics and
personalized medicine applications
and how they will be translated and
integrated into healthcare delivery and
health systems.
Aside from evidentiary standards,
just simple general knowledge of
personalized medicine will help it
become standard practice. Accelerating
“Scientific progress
doesn’t move all that
fast. But genetics still
has great potential to
improve health.”
- Stephen Kimmel, MD, MSCE
this knowledge, in addition to
developing the evidence base for and
promoting informed decision-making
about personalized medicine to create
meaningful health outcomes, is the
mission of Dr. Issa’s P 2 MT 2 .
“In exchange for a few drops of
blood or saliva, patients are now able
to obtain information based upon
variations in their DNA sequences that
will one day help them benefit from
the prescribing of more effectively
tailored drugs and avoid some of the
more serious side effects,” said Dr.
Issa. “That is the tantalizing promise of
personalized medicine.”