Precision Medicine Thursdays at Venture Café
Attendance is FREE and open to all.
Speakers
Kevin Bennett, PhD
Associate Professor of Radiology
Washington University in St. Louis
Imaging tools to evaluate kidney structure and function
Approximately one third of the world population is at risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Rates of CKD are rapidly increasing due to the global increase in rates of obesity and diabetes. Patients with CKD who progress to end stage kidney disease will require transplantation, and often require dialysis while they are awaiting a transplant. There are currently few tools to reliably evaluate the human kidney. The Bennett lab at Washington University and XN Biotechnologies, LLC are developing translational tools to provide a three-dimensional map of kidney microstructure and function, based on radiological imaging. These tools will be used to provide early diagnostics to guide early interventions to prevent CKD, and will provide a comprehensive platform of analysis to improve allocation of kidneys donated for transplantation.
Victor Song, PhD
Professor of Radiology
Washington University in St. Louis
Diffusion Histology Imaging (DHI): Virtual Histopathology for Accurate Diagnosis of Solid Tumors
Diffusion Histology Imaging (DHI) is a noninvasive, image processing software package to serve as a diagnostic device to accurately detect and grade tumors in the prostate. DHI detects the tumor-induced histopathological and structural changes using artificial intelligence algorithms to capture and identify histological signatures of various grades of PCa. DHI can detect cancer with millimeter resolution covering the entire prostate gland then report the Gleason Grade Groups (GGGs) of PCa immediately after imaging, eliminating needle biopsy associated “blind spots” to detect PCa. DHI will assess GGGs (preliminary results suggested an over 97% accuracy to determine GGGs 1 – 5 from 101 confirmed PCa subjects) at the initial diagnosis allowing an effective risk stratification and treatment decision for patients with PCa. This will ultimately lead to the elimination of unnecessary biopsies, overtreatments, and associated complications.
On the third Thursday of every month, ICTS Precision Medicine hosts a session featuring WashU faculty working in translational genomics/precision medicine areas. Talks are typically oriented toward biotechnology, diagnostics, informatics, start-ups and precision interventions based on medical genomics innovations.