CAP ’08 Highlights

Mara Aspinall Delivers the 2008 Special Scientific Presentation
Former president of Genzyme Genetics, vice chair of the Personalized Medicine Coalition, and a member of the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ Advisory Council on Genetics, Mara Aspinall shared her thoughts and data on the rise of personalized medicine. She discussed what personalized medicine means for the future of pathology, pathologists, and patient care.

“Pathologists will play a key role in defining how health care is delivered in the world of personalized medicine,” said Ms. Aspinall. “With that opportunity, however, come multiple risks and challenges.”

Some of the changes and opportunities have already begun with the revolution currently underway in the health care industry—personalized medicine. Ms. Aspinall noted that this revolution is fueled by advances in pathology and diagnostic technology in conjunction with advances in genetics and genomics. When fully implemented, personalized medicine will transform patient care as profoundly as antibiotics and vaccines did in the past. Health care delivery will move from trial-and-error medicine to patient-centric medicine with highly targeted and individualized diagnostics and therapeutics.

View her presentation slides about pathology.