Conference and Workshop on New Frontiers in diagnosis, screening and management of inherited cancer syndromes

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Rapid advances in genetic and genomic technologies have revolutionized our approach to cancer risk assessment, screening, prevention and targeted cancer therapies, heralding the era of precision healthcare. The introduction of affordable next generation sequencing (NGS) testing including multi-gene panels and whole exome or genome sequencing provides a wealth of data on both rare and common genetic variants. While these technologies enable personalized cancer risk assessment and cancer prevention, they also require novel approaches to genetic counseling, interpretation of results and responsible communication of this complex information. While professional education in the technology and application of genomics to clinical care is urgently needed especially for community practitioners and trainees, it is not readily available and there are no opportunities for hands-on case based learning. To address the changing landscape and provide evidence-based professional education, we propose a unique interdisciplinary yearly conference series to highlight clinical innovations in cancer risk assessment and prevention. The format will include state-of the art lectures, panel discussions, small breakout sessions for case based learning and poster presentations. Our overall goal is to improve the quality of cancer risk assessment and precision prevention approaches by providing an interdisciplinary educational forum in which to disseminate new knowledge in translational genomics and evidence-based clinical care of high-risk patients and their at risk family members. In addition to our leadership team, a conference advisory committee (CAC) composed of external members with exceptional expertise in cancer genetics, who will advise on the conference agendas and speakers. Each year, we will feature different invited faculty who are experts in their field to provide state-of- the-art lectures and participate in panel and case discussions. At each subsequent conference, we will address our specific aims by disseminating updates at the cutting edge of research and clinical developments in the field. To develop a learning community, we will curate Pedigrees with accompanying clinical information submitted by workshop participants and publish an annual conference Proceedings. Our target audience includes interdisciplinary health care providers for cancer patients (oncologists, gastroenterologists, gynecologists, primary care physicians and surgeons), nurses, physician assistants and genetic counselors from community and academic practices. By offering merit- and need-based travel awards, we will provide special opportunities for trainees, junior investigators, women and minorities to participate fully in the workshops and publish with senior mentors. The locations will alternate between downtown Chicago (2016, 2018 and 2020) and City of Hope in Duarte, CA (2017 and 2019). By tracking a number of metrics and due to the dynamic nature of the emerging field of Precision Healthcare, we will alter our conference agenda to accommodate new developments and remain up-to-date and relevant to clinical practice.