STAGE ISSS: Clare Turnbull

Join us for the next instalment of the STAGE International Speaker Seminar Series (ISSS) with

Clare Turnbull, MD, PhD, FRCP, FRCPath, MFPH, DCH, MA, MSc (Epidemiology)
Professor of Medical Genomics, Institute of Cancer Research, London
Honorary Consultant in Clinical Cancer Genetics, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London
Honorary Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Public Health England, London

Talk Title:
Breast Cancer Susceptibility Genetics: expansion of testing and emerging challenges

Abstract:

As optimism has waned that ‘precision-oncology’ will be panacea for decreasing the bulk cancer-related mortality associated with most common solid tumors, attention has re-focused on cancer prevention and early detection.  Any such strategy is likely a priori to have more impact if targeted to those at the highest risk of developing cancer, namely the genetically predisposed.  With recent technology advances facilitating cheap high throughput sequencing, and massive political imperative to leverage ‘the power of genomics’ to rescue us from the rocketing cost of healthcare, pressure for delivery of results in cancer susceptibility genetics is unprecedented.  I shall discuss leverageable opportunities for expansion of polygenic and monogenic testing for breast cancer genetic susceptibility along with the challenges of complex genomic architecture, risk, and variant pathogenicity. 

Speaker Profile:

Clare is Professor of Translational Cancer Genetics in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology at the Institute of Cancer Research.   Her research spans statistical, population, and public-health-related analyses of genetic cancer susceptibility and implementation of expanded genomic testing.  She is currently rolling out a new £4.3 million CRUK-funded program: ‘CanGene-CanVar: Data Resources, Clinical and Educational Tools to leverage Cancer Susceptibility Genetics for Early Detection and Prevention of Cancer’ program.  As an honorary consultant in Public Health, she is working closely with Public Health England in this program to incorporate genomic data into the National Cancer Registration datasets.  She is also in process of initiating BRCA-DIRECT: a CRUK-funded program to develop and pilot a digital platform to deliver Rapid, Digital, Clinician-Independent, Genetic Susceptibility Biomarker Testing.  Undertaking studies in various tumour types of germline, somatic and functional genomics, Clare has a particular interest in testicular cancer.  From 2014 to 2020, Clare worked as Clinical Lead for Cancer Genomics for the Genomics England 100,000 Genomes Project.  Having trained as a Clinical Geneticist, her clinical work at The Royal MarsdenNHS Foundation Trust focuses on management of patients and families with genetic susceptibility to cancer. 

Clare undertook her preclinical training in Cambridge and qualified in medicine from Oxford University.  She undertook general medical training across hospitals in Oxford and London and specialist training in Clinical Genetics in London. She completed a PhD in Genetic Epidemiology and Molecular Genetics at the Institute of Cancer Research, London and a Masters degree in Epidemiology and Statistics at the London School of Hygiene.  She is a member by distinction of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine.

Sponsors

CANSSI Ontario STAGE (STAGE) is a training program in genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics, housed at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and funded by CANSSI Ontario at U of T, an extra-departmental unit in the Faculty of Arts & Science that is home to the Ontario Regional Centre of the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute (CANSSI).

Seminars are sponsored by The Hospital for Sick Children, the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the McLaughlin Centre of the University of Toronto, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Ontario Cancer Institute of the University Health Network.

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