Mayo Clinic hosting first-ever public symposium on individualized medicine
You've probably heard the term "individualized medicine," but do you know what it means?
Mayo Clinic experts will give presentations and answer questions on the topic at a first-ever public symposium Sunday, Sept. 20 at the Siebens building in downtown Rochester. The event costs $15 to attend and is open to the public.
Among the questions experts will answer:
- How is individualized medicine going to change health care for me today and for my family in the future?
- What can and can't genetic testing tell me?
- Have you ever wondered why some medications don't seem to work for you?
The symposium is part of a 3-day conference hosted by the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine. The fourth annual conference — which is targeted toward physicians and researchers — will focus on the latest findings in genomics and how to apply them to each individual's practice.
Gianrico Farrugia, the former director of the center, and now vice president of Mayo Clinic and CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida, will return to Rochester to deliver the opening keynote address for the conference on Monday, Sept. 21.
Earlier this year, President Barack Obama announced a major initiative to begin investing in personalized medicine, the practice of tailoring treatments to a patient's genetic makeup. The plan would allow scientists to begin collecting and analyzing data from about a million volunteers.
Mayo Clinic, which already has one of the largest biobank collections in the country, is expected to play a significant role in the president's initiative.
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