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2021 Open Meeting of the UK Pharmacogenetics & Stratified Medicine Network (UKPGx)

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On October 20th, the 2021 Open Meeting of the UK Pharmacogenetics & Stratified Medicine (UKPGx) Network took place at the Royal College of Physicians in Central London.

The stellar line-up of speakers delivered their talks live at the venue to an audience made up of in-person delegates in the auditorium as well as others who joined remotely. Many attendees expressed that this was their first large face-to-face meeting since March 2020, and while there were COVID safety protocols to be followed, there was a real sense of excitement at being able to experience the programme with old friends and new potential collaborators in person.

Session one, chaired by Sir Munir Pirmohamed, set the scene for the day. Jonathan Van-Tam and June Raine reflected on the world-changing events of the last eighteen months, particularly as they relate to research and regulation. Robert Scott from GSK spoke about the importance of genetics and genomics in drug discovery.

Session two gave three early career researchers the chance to showcase their fascinating research, covering ovarian and skin cancer, and sepsis.

Session three looked at COVID-19 in more detail, beginning with a talk from Sarah Gilbert on vaccine development, and an illuminating explanation of the development of the COG-UK consortium and the genomic sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from Sharon Peacock. Clark Russell completed this unmissable session, presenting a talk on treatable traits in COVID-19.

Session four looked to the future with Stuart Ralston’s talk on precision medicine in metabolic bone disease and Pearse Keane’s presentation on transforming healthcare with artificial intelligence. Dame Anna Dominiczak brought the day to rousing close with “Precision medicine – what is the future?”

All the talks were recorded and are now available to view at the UKPGx network website here.