Department of Biostatistics Seminar Series

Emerging Methods in Biostatistics and Data Science: Prospects for the future of precision medicine

Yu Shyr, PhD

Harold L. Moses Chair in Cancer Research
Director, Vanderbilt Center for Quantitative Sciences
Director, Vanderbilt Technologies for Advanced Genomics Analysis and Research Design
Professor of Biostatistics, Biomedical Informatics, Cancer Biology, and Health Policy
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

The Holy Grail of precision medicine is the comprehensive integration of patient genotypic with phenotypic data to develop personalized disease prevention and treatment strategies. Next-generation sequencing technologies (NGS) and other types of high-throughput assays have exploded in popularity in recent years, thanks to their ability to produce an enormous volume of data quickly and at relatively low cost compared to more traditional laboratory methods. The ability to generate big data brings us one step closer to the realization of precision medicine; nevertheless, across the life cycle of such data, from experimental design to data capture, management, analysis, and utilization, many challenges remain. In this talk, I will introduce a recent report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which reviewed the state-of-the-art in biomarker testing for selection of targeted therapies. I will also discuss potential pathways for the seamless integration of cellular and molecular data with clinical, physiological, behavioral, and environmental parameters – a critical next step in advancing the goals of precision medicine, and an enormous opportunity for the biostatistics community to have a tremendous impact on improving patient care and outcomes.