UAB Sees Opportunity with Precision Medicine
Precision medicine is changing the way doctors treat people with cancer. It’s an emerging field that is sometimes referred to as “personalized medicine.” That’s because treatments are tailored for specific patient traits. Many observers say UAB is particularly well-positioned to lead the targeted therapy front. That’s the subject of the cover article in Friday’s Birmingham Business Journal. Editor Ty West talked with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager.
Interview Highlights
What precision medicine is:
“In terms of cancer care, this is a very precise form of medicine that depends a lot on the human genome and the sequencing that’s happened in recent years. It basically allows you to develop a personalized plan of care based on a patient’s DNA. This is an area that’s grown exponentially really over the past five or six years and it is an area that many believe is going to be the next frontier in medicine overall, but particularly in terms of cancer care.”
Why UAB is positioned to ride this new technology:
“They’ve already kind of been at the forefront. They’ve made some strategic hires. If you look back over the past five or six years, they’ve hired some leading experts in precision medicine and genomic medicine, so that’s one reason. If think if you look at Alabama also and our health situation here in the state, experts have told us over the years that also creates some opportunities from some interesting clinical trials. A lot of groundbreaking cancer research can be done and that’s unfortunate for our community that we’re faced with some of those chronic health challenges, but it does create opportunities to change the world here in Birmingham.”
What the university plans to do:
“They want to do a $70 million genomic medicine building. That would be a wholesale renovation of an existing building. They’re approaching this like an economic development project, not like another building at UAB’s campus. They believe with a facility like this that could be kind of a leading global facility, it’ll make it easier to recruit researchers here. And every one of those researchers are kind of like a small business. They have staffs. They have million dollar budgets that are coming in. That’s bringing money into this community. But perhaps more importantly, it’s creating the opportunity to create more jobs down the road in terms of commercialization, in terms of spinning off some startups.”
Editorial note: UAB holds WBHM’s broadcast license, but WBHM’s news and business departments operate independently.
Sweeping cuts hit NEA after Trump administration calls to eliminate the agency
Hours after the Trump administration proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts from next year's federal budget, hundreds of arts groups in the U.S. were told their grants were canceled.
The Vatican installs chimney to signal the selection of the next pope
Ahead of the election of the next pope, a chimney was installed atop the Sistine Chapel on Friday, which will help notify the public of the 267th pope.
Sovereignty beats out favorite Journalism to win the Kentucky Derby
The victory hands Venezuelan jockey Junior Alvarado his first career win in the Kentucky Derby. Sovereignty's trainer, Bill Mott, has won the Kentucky Derby once before.
Florida lawmakers try to balance condo safety with cost
Florida lawmakers have sent the governor a bill that would provide financial relief to condo owners. The measure softens mandates passed after the deadly 2021 collapse of a condo tower in Surfside.
Actress and ‘Laugh-In’ comedian Ruth Buzzi dies at 88
Buzzi, who was best known for her regular appearances on the NBC variety TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, died on Thursday at her home in Texas.
A telescope’s powerful new tool may offer a better way to predict solar storms
The Daniel K. Inouye telescope snapped a clear image of sunspots.
