NEW YORK—Weill Cornell Medical College andNewYork-Presbyterian Hospital have announced the establishment of the Institutefor Precision Medicine at Weill Cornell and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill CornellMedical Center. The translational medicine research institute will explore theboundaries of precision medicine and individualized treatments, looking togenomics to tailor therapies.
Dr. Mark Rubin, current vice chair for experimentalpathology and director of Translational Research Laboratory Services at WeillCornell, will lead the new institute. Rubin—who is also the Homer T. Hirst IIIProfessor of Oncology, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine andprofessor of pathology in urology at Weill Cornell and a pathologist atNewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell—is a leading pathologist and expert inprostate cancer with experience in using whole genomic sequencing in the lab toinvestigate DNA mutations.
"Precision medicine is the future of medicine, and itsapplication will help countless patients," Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, the Stephenand Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, said in a pressrelease. "The Institute for Precision Medicine, with Dr. Rubin's expertise andstrong leadership, will accelerate our understanding of the human genome,provide key insights into the causes of disease and enable ourphysician-scientists to translate this knowledge from the lab to the clinicalsetting to help deliver personalized treatments to the sickest of ourpatients."
The science team at the Institute for Precision Medicinewill work to establish a new treatment paradigm, from the "one-size-fits-all"approach to more targeted, individualized care, by identifying geneticinfluencers of each patient's illness and using the information to more specificallytarget those contributing factors. This closer analysis will also allowresearchers and physicians to treat patients with advanced diseases and thosewith drug resistance who are no longer responding to treatment.
The institute's work will hinge primarily on genomicssequencing, biobanking and bioinformatics. The two organizations will invest instate-of-the-art sequencing technology, as well as a larger biobank for patientspecimens and samples. In addition, Weill Cornell and NewYork-Presbyterian willestablish a team of bioinformaticians to analyze the gathered patient data andidentify genetic mutations and other abnormalities.
"This institute will revolutionize the way we treat disease,linking cutting-edge research and next-generation sequencing in the laboratoryto the patient's bedside. We will use advanced technology and the collectivewealth of knowledge from our clinicians, basic scientists, pathologists,molecular biologists and computational biologists to pinpoint the molecularunderpinnings of disease — information that will spur the discovery of noveltreatments and therapies," said Rubin in a statement. "It's an exciting time tobe involved in precision medicine and I look forward to advancing thisgame-changing field of medicine."
The Institute for Precision Medicine will also dedicate partof its focus to preventive precision medicine, as genomic sequencing can alertphysicians to preexisting conditions or health issues that their patients arepredisposed to developing.
"The Institute for Precision Medicine will enable ourdoctors to tailor effective treatments for individual patients and also predictthe diseases that are likely to affect a patient long before they develop," Dr.Steven J. Corwin, CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, said in a pressrelease. "By harnessing the full potential of our enhanced understanding of thehuman genome, and extending its reach into the clinical realm, the institutewill transform patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Centerand beyond."
SOURCE: Weill Cornell press release
