Science horizons
Dr Philippa Brice
Our first session, chaired by Dr Philippa Brice, Deputy Director, PHG Foundation, considered the potential for new science and technology to benefit future healthcare; how potentially transformative innovations can be identified and developed; and the importance of keeping pace with emerging scientific potential to inform short and long-term policy planning.
In the last five years PHG Foundation has completed investigations into, and advised on, the implementation and regulatory challenges of a huge range of topics including: ctDNA, polygenic risk scores, pathogen genomics, privacy and the uses of personal data in research - such as synthetic data. We have produced a series of policy briefings and explainers setting out the fundamentals of different 'omic technologies and there potential impact on human health. Dr Mark Kroese, Director, PHG Foundation, takes us through the most recent work from the PHG Foundation policy summit marking 25 years of making science work for health.
Professor Dennis Lo, Director, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. talks about cfDNA, including new work by Professor Lo and colleagues on defragmentation of cell-free DNA. Professor Lo reveals important new discoveries around the interactions between fragmentomics and DNA methylation.