Cell‐Free DNA Sequencing for Early Cancer Detection

Learning Objective #1 Understand some of the challenges with the collection, generation, and interpretation of liquid biopsy data in clinical studies Learning Objective #2 Become acquainted with different biological aspects of cell-free DNA and associated technologies to detect early cancer Learning Objective #3 Become acquainted with initatives in hereditary cancer to assess the use of cell-free DNA sequencing technologies for cancer screening Our speaker will give an overview of the technology, utilization and challenges of liquid biopsy, which is a newer testing methodology that the general genetic counseling community may not have significant knowledge of. Dr. Trevor Pugh, PhD, FACMG is a cancer genomics researcher, board-certified molecular geneticist, and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Translational Genomics. He is Director of the Joint Genomics Program of the University Health Network and Ontario Institute for Cancer Research which supports basic, translational, and clinical research. He is appointed as an Associate Professor in the University of Toronto Department of Medical Biophysics, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Senior Investigator at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. His research lab is focused on understanding clinical implications of clonal shifts in cancer and immune cells during treatment, most recently using cell-free DNA, immune repertoire, and single cell RNA-seq sequencing. Most recently, he was recognized by Canada's Top 40 Under 40, a Terry Fox New Investigator Award, and inclusion on the Web of Science Highly Cited Researchers List.