Purpose

In 2000 the first draft sequence of the human genome was released, and widespread use of techniques to implement and translate such genomic knowledge was slow to be adopted by the medical community.  In 2009, the future leadership of the CPT felt that there was a critical mass of information regarding the association of individual genetic variability with drug-related adverse event and response outcomes and therefore established the Center.

The Center embarked on its first project in 2011, the 1200 Patients Project, which uses a preemptive ‘medical system model’ for personalized care that makes relevant pharmacogenomic information instantaneously accessible at the time of prescribing to reduce the use of inapprorpiate and high risk medications in patients for whom pharmacogenomic results are known, thereby decreasing adverse events and non-responsive rates.

Goals

One of the key goals of the Center is to develop systems for efficient collection, storage and clinical application of genetic data and to train physicians in the use of personalized genetic information as tools in patient care which can help identify the patients most likely to respond to, or be harmed by, specific therapies.

Current CPT reserach focuses on the evaluation of pharmacogenomics markers in the context of clinical trials at all phases of drug development.  In addition, researchers are working in the area of new drug development by using genomic research findings to identify new targets, leading to the development of antibodies, peptide vaccines, and small molecular compounds.

In the near future, the Center plans to expand the availability of pre-emptive clinical testing for use in additional patient populations at a variety of institutions around the counry.  The ultimate goal of the Center is to develop innovative, personalized and effective therapies for all patients.

Collaboration

The Center is uniquely positioned to further enhance collaborative clinical, research and training efforts in partnership with other departments and units of the university.  The CPT interfaces and collaborates with a number of existing units including:  the Departments of Medicine (Sections of Genetic Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, General Internal Medicine, and Hospital Medicine), Pathology, Human Genetics, and Health Studies; the Committee on Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics; the Comprehensive Cancer Center; the Center for Health and the Social Sciences; the MacClean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics; and the Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology.  These interactions are vital to the CPT’s mission and ultimate goals.