Issue #11
UCSF Speakers Reach Record Numbers at 2023 Precision Medicine World Conference

The opening day kicked off with a first-time panel on “How New Public-Private Collaboratives Can Catalyze Transformative Health Breakthroughs" along with more than 32 UCSF related speakers throughout the three day conference.
Precision Medicine in Action, News
Science Letter to Editor responding to “Students and postdocs deserve more"
Keith Yamamoto, director of UCSF Precision Medicine / president of AAAS / VC for Science Policy and Strategy, recently wrote a Letter to Editor in Science. Yamamoto highlighted that students and postdocs are justly distressed about the support they receive during their training, but it’s not just the inadequate funding - he suggests reforms in academia’s culture and governance that position trainees at the center. Read letter in Science
Realizing the Potential of Genomics across the Continuum of Precision Health Care: Proceedings of a Workshop
Kathryn Phillips participated in the National Academies of Medicine (NAM) Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health. The proceedings have been published and include thoughts on building an accessible precision health care system. Read here
“Smarter” Breast Cancer Screening Measures Risk Down to Your DNA
The expanded study, known as WISDOM 2.0, is testing a personalized approach that replaces the standard annual mammogram with recommended screening schedules based on personal risk factors, such as age, genetics, lifestyle, health history and breast density. Read article
How Gene Therapy Saved a Child from “Bubble Boy Disease”
With the results of the bone marrow tests still pending, the boy "HT" was airlifted to UCSF with his parents to meet pediatricians Mort Cowan, MD, and Jennifer Puck, MD, internationally known experts in researching and treating severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). Puck won the 2022 PMWC Pioneer Award for developing the newborn screening test for SCID. Read article
Awards and Honors
Ida Sim has been appointed as UCSF's first Chief Research Informatics Officer (CRIO). In this role Dr. Sim will lead UCSF’s research informatics strategy and will work in close partnership with Associate Chief Information Officer for Research Mandy Terrill to advance a broad vision for the coming decade and beyond. Central to this is positioning UCSF at the forefront of technology-centric research, including artificial intelligence, computational science, and digital health. The CRIO role will support UCSF’s research informatics community across the spectrum — from basic science to clinical trials and health services research; from translational science to population health and health equity.
Atul Butte, director of the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute (BCHSI), has been appointed to the Editorial Board of JAMA. Butte will bring his years of experience with the latest advances in biomedical informatics, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and real-world evidence to the board. Read Press Release

Butte has also been named a 2022 fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election to AAAS is one of the highest honors in science and recognizes important contributions to research. Read more

Events
May 1, 2023
ARPA-H Funding Opportunity Seminar! 2-3:30 pm, In-person (Genentech Hall N114) and Virtual. Learn about the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) federal agency, which seeks to identify and fund breakthrough technologies and broadly applicable platforms, capabilities, resources, and solutions that have the potential to transform important areas of medicine and health that cannot readily be accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity. Register and see details here!

Speakers include VCR Hal Collard and Vice Chancellor of Science Policy and Strategy Keith Yamamoto. Sponsored by the Office of Research, Office for Science Policy and Strategy.
November 7, 2023
Save-the-Date! Toward Algorithmic Justice in Precision Medicine, a workshop, will convene health system professionals, biomedical investigators, AI tool developers, and the broader public, to consider systemic flaws in data collection, datasets, and AI tools, and how resultant algorithmic injustices can be uncovered and addressed, enabling equitable advances in precision medicine. Details to come soon! Email us with inquiries.
November 30 - December 1, 2023
Personalized Medicine’s 20th Anniversary: From Promise to Practice
Office of Science Policy and Strategy
Vice Chancellor for Science Policy and Strategy Keith Yamamoto met with White House Office of Science Technology and Policy Director Arati Prabhakar. They discussed groundbreaking work in her office to promote equity and excellence in the US STEMM ecosystem, to implement the President’s Biotechnology & Biomanufacturing Executive Order, and much more.

Later in the week, Prabhakar challenged AAAS meeting attendees to pursue bold scientific aspirations and address societal crises.

(Photo from left to right: Dr. Arati Prabhakar and Vice Chancellor Keith Yamamoto)
Keith Yamamoto met with Senator Bill Cassidy (R- LA), Ranking Member of the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) committee, which oversees NIH. Their discussion focused on NIH funding, support for trainees, and aspects of NIH administration and operations.

(Photo from left to right: Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Vice Chancellor Keith Yamamoto)
Keith Yamamoto participated in the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) Global Forum 2.0 in Singapore. Over 20 countries attended and presented their current topical foci, approaches and technologies. He helped present on behalf of the US.
During a visit to advocate for increased federal support for biomedical research, Keith Yamamoto, Director of Precision Medicine, and Ben Rubin, Associate Director of Precision Medicine, represent UCSF at the Research!America 2023 Advocacy Award event honoring leaders who have advanced our nation’s commitment to medical, health, and scientific research.

*Yamamoto has recently been elected to its Board of Directors. Read Announcement
The Elements of Precision Medicine