Genomics – Optimizing Treatment

Transcript

I think genomics, along with epigenomics or how genes are expressed and turned on or off, as well as proteomics, how the entire spectrum of proteins that are produced by cells interact with each other and behave, will transform much of how we select and administer treatments. It also has a far reaching set of implications for how novel treatments are developed, but sticking to the currently available treatments and preventative measures that can be utilized such as behaviors, nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, genomics has the potential to deeply change the general and somewhat haphazard way that many patients are treated today. What I mean by that is that we often use a one size fits all approach to selecting treatments and then a trial and error approach to dosing, except in blatantly obvious circumstances like kidney failure. But more than simply enabling doctors to optimize treatments, to a larger extent, genomics will also help patients advocate for themselves and actively participate in the process of optimizing treatments in collaboration with their doctor.