Precision Health and PGx Podcast

Using Technology to Decrease Barriers to the Clinical Implementation of Pharmacogenomics: LetsGetChecked’s PGx Story | PGx For Pharmacists

On this episode, Dr. Avni Santani, Chief Genomics Officer of Let's Get Checked, Dr. Behnaz Sarrami, and I discuss how Let's Get Checked solves several major barriers that have held pharmacogenomics back from becoming the standard of care in medication therapy management, pharmacists' critical and unique role in PGX at Let's Get Checked, and how nontraditional PGx payers are championing for PGx testing to decrease adverse drug events, increase therapeutic medication outcomes, and improve patient adherence to their medications.  https://www.letsgetchecked.com/mypgx/Becky Winslow, BS, PharmD and Behnaz Sarrami, MS, PharmD (Hosts) Avni A. Santani, PhD, FACMG, Chief Genomics Officer at LetsGetChecked
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PGx Roundtable: The Patient’s Perspective | PGx For Pharmacists

Explore the realm of pharmacogenomic testing as patients open up about their experiences, sharing stories of both success and tragedy. These courageous guests provide insights into the power of personalized medicine and the crucial lessons learned along the way.
A journey from medication struggles to success through pharmacogenomics. A heartbreaking tale of genetic-based medication complications. Navigating emotions while uncovering genetic insights.
Triumphs of Personalization: Guests share uplifting accounts of renewed health and life improvements due to pharmacogenomic testing.
Learning from Tragedy: Stories underscore the consequences of neglecting genetic factors, advocating for greater awareness.
Emotional Resilience: Discussing the psychological challenges in the context of chronic conditions and medication adjustments.
Empowering Patients and Providers: Guests stress education and dialogue between patients and medical professionals for informed decisions.
Join us as we unravel narratives of strength, hope, and knowledge in pharmacogenomic testing. This episode provides a valuable perspective on the fusion of genetics and healthcare, whether you're a patient, healthcare provider, or simply intrigued by personalized medicine's evolution.
Special interviews with Christina Delsoldato, Karen Merrit, Christine Von Raesfeld, and Joanne McIntyre.
Behnaz Disclaimer: These are my personal views and opinions, and I am not speaking on behalf of Castle Biosciences, Inc.

PGx Education History & Future Projection with Dave Kisor | PGX For Pharmacists

Dr. Dave Kisor, a professor and director of pharmacogenomics at Manchester University. He graduated from The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy in 1986 and completed a two-year fellowship in therapeutic drug monitoring/pharmacokinetics at OSU. Before he joined Manchester, Dave was professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Ohio Northern University after being a research scientist at Burroughs Wellcome Co/GlaxoWellcome. Dave has over 80 peer-reviewed publications including being the lead author on two pharmacogenomics textbooks. He is a past chair of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Pharmacogenomics Special Interest Group. Dave was named a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology in 2017, and in 2021, along with Dr. Tom Smith, he received an AACP Innovations in PGx Teaching Award. His current research is related to PGx and opioid use disorder. Dave currently serves as co-chair of the Pharmacogenomics Global Research Network (PGRN) Education Committee and is Editor-In-Chief of Pharmacogenomics: Foundations, Competencies, and the Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process.
 
Behnaz Disclaimer: These are my personal views and opinions, and I am not speaking on behalf of Castle Biosciences, Inc.

Desperation to Discovery Empowered by PGx | PGX For Pharmacists

Few people with a cause walk the talk as boldly and graciously as Christine Von Raesfeld, founder and CEO of People with Empathy. Christine is a pillar of patient advocacy and allyship in the rare and chronic disease community. Through the lens of her lived experiences in healthcare, she has become a champion for patient voices, diversity and inclusion in clinical research, and equitable patient-sponsor partnerships. Christine has brought her unique perspective and honed expertise to countless roles as a featured speaker for numerous conferences on topics ranging from clinical trial recruitment to data & digital rights, from a true patient perspective. She serves as an e-patient scholar with Stanford MedicineX and a Technical Expert Panelist with CMS among other roles. Wherever possible, Christine generates momentum toward progress along her patient advocacy interests and has become a thought leader worldwide, stimulating dialog on a range of topics relevant to patients, clinicians, and industry. As a patient advisor, Christine has assisted several initiatives including the Stanford "Humanwide" Precision Medicine Program and the NIH All of Us Research Program and serves as a board member/advisor to multiple organizations and startups. For her many contributions to the field, she has been named one of the top 100 Women of Influence by Silicon Valley Business Journal, a member of the 2021 HIMSS Future50, and one of Medika Life's 50 most influential voices in healthcare among other distinctions. www.peoplewithempathy.org/
Behnaz Disclaimer: These are my personal views and opinions, and I am not speaking on behalf of Castle Biosciences, Inc.

Maternal Medication Management Through Pharmacogenomics | PGX For Pharmacists

Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) is a potentially life-threatening pregnancy disease that may cause weight loss, malnutrition, dehydration, and debility due to severe nausea and/or vomiting, and may cause long-term health issues for mother and baby(ies). It occurs in up to 3% of pregnant women and may last the entire pregnancy, which can lead to malnourished. Dr. Danielle Plummer has unfortunately been a three-time survivor of HG and she is the founder and CEO of HG clinical solutions (www.hgclinicalsolutions.com). Please visit that website and learn more. She offers personalized medication planning and patient advocacy in addition to educating providers on HG disease state. She has women around the world reaching out to her for advice and support, and she is looking forward to the day that PGx is utilized in all the countries that she is supporting. www.HGPharmacist.com is a link to Danielle's free ebook called "Dear ER doctor, Believe Us" There is also a FaceBook support group: www.facebook.com/groups/hgsolutions.
"Coming Soon" is the course called "Preparing for a Hyperemesis Pregnancy". Connect with Danielle to sign up.
 
Behnaz Disclaimer: These are my personal views and opinions, and I am not speaking on behalf of Castle Biosciences, Inc.

The Human Cost of Ignoring DPD Deficiency | PGX For Pharmacists

DYPD is a gene that provides instructions for making an enzyme called dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD). This enzyme plays very important in breaking down a substance called uracil, which is found in our DNA and RNA. Mutations in the DYPD gene can lead to decreased or absent DPD activity, which if you think about it can cause a buildup of uracil in the body. If someone is DPD deficiency it can make it difficult for the body to process certain chemotherapy drugs and can lead to severe side effects, such as nerve damage, GI problems, and even death. Genetic testing before being placed on a chemo agent, to see if there is a DPD deficiency is vital. According to Advocates for Universal DPD/DPYD Testing (AUDT), Europe is becoming the standard of care for testing for this gene and only in some selected institutions in the US the testing it being done. AUDT is made up of a group of patient advocates and medical professionals who are seeking to improve treatment outcomes for patients that are preparing to receive chemotherapy based on fluoropyrimidine drugs. One of the founders of this non-profit organization, AUDT, Karen Merritt is our guest today. She lost her mother in 2014 due to being DPD deficient and after getting her first infusion of 5FU. Karen dedicated herself to advocating and raising awareness about pre-testing for DPD deficiency before fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy administration to reduce unnecessary suffering.
Disclaimer: These are my personal views and opinions, and I am not speaking on behalf of Castle Biosciences, Inc.Resources: https://test4dpd.org/about-us/

Beyond the PGx Certificate: Real World PGx Experiences in the Business of Pharmacogenomics | PGx For Pharmacists

Pharmacogenomics consulting isn't the glamorous and highly lucrative career path some voices in the pharmacogenomics industry portray it to be... In this episode, Behnaz and Becky dispel the "get rich quick" myth about PGx and discuss what pharmacists need to know “beyond the PGX certificate” to be successful creating a career in pharmacogenomics as they have. So, don't quit your full time pharmacist job to become a pharmacogenomics consultant until you listen to this enlightening episode of the PGx for Pharmacists Podcast! https://cpicpgx.org/
Disclaimer: These are my personal views and opinions, and I am not speaking on behalf of Castle Biosciences, Inc.

The State of the PGx Testing Industry December 2022: Pressing Issues and Future Projections

In this episode of the PGx for Pharmacists Podcast, Behnaz and Becky take a break from interviewing other pharmacogenomics experts and share their expert opinions on current pressing issues and future projections for the pharmacogenomics industry. In addition, Behnaz and Becky drop a few hints on what listeners can look forward to from the PGx for Pharmacists Podcast starting in 2023.
www.stoplabcuts.org
www.cap.org/member-resources/articles/message-from-the-cap-president-on-the-valid-act
 
Disclaimer: These are my personal views and opinions, and I am not speaking on behalf of Castle Biosciences, Inc.

PGx Experts in a Multidisciplinary Precision Medicine Team

Dr. Lucas Berenbrok is a pharmacist educator and researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He co-led the implementation of outpatient pharmacogenomic services at University of Pittsburg Medical Center. This unique service, called Primary Care Precision Medicine, provides pharmacogenetic and genetic testing to patients in local and surrounding areas. With his colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh, Berenbrok co-created Test2LearnTM, a pharmacogenomics certificate program for pharmacists. Dr. Neda Leonard, CEO of Rx Gene IQ and she is a Dual Board-Certified Pharmacist in Pharmacotherapy and Geriatrics. She has experience in various setting such as Program for All-inclusive Care for Elderly (PACE) where she uses her expertise in medication management and PGx. She is a seasoned speaker locally and nationally on various subject matters such as pharmacogenomics and polypharmacy. She has published in Drug Metabolism Reviews and was featured in THE CONSULTANT PHARMCIST Journal. Currently she partners with a group of Geriatricians/Internal Medicine physicians using a collaborative practice agreement for patients living independently, in assisted living facilities or in skilled nursing facilities. She has many tools in her toolbox to use such as pharmacogenomics, deprescribing, geriatric medication optimization, Part D Comprehensive Medication Management (CMR) and Targeted Medication Review (TMR),and working with various private insurances such as United Healthcare and Optum. A Multidisciplinary Precision Medicine Service in Primary Care www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8786423/ 

Polypharmacy and PGx Guided Therapy in PTSD | PGx For Pharmacist

Dr. Larry Shapiro is a clinical psychologist that started back in 1990 but quote on quote retired to become a financial advisor. He was having a discussion with his brother one day, who was a career officer in the Army, returning from Afghanistan. That make Dr. Shapiro to re-think about his contributions to his community, so he got his license back, trained in military trauma, and started again as a psychologist in 2014. He started at St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute specializing in treatment of OCD, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, simple phobias, depression, and combat trauma. Last year he attended the annual Boston Trauma Conference and heard for the first time about the use of psychedelic medicines for treatment of trauma. So after a 150 hour certification program at Integrative Psychiatry Institute he became certified in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy which now is part of his current practice. Just this year in January he went into private practice so he can focus more on psychedelics. He is also an adjunct instructor in the department of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis and a clinical consultant for psilocybin research at Healthy Minds Lab at Washington University. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which is one of the most common psychiatric disorders which affects about 8 million adults at some point in their lifetime in the United States. But it is not clear as to why only some people who experience a traumatic event develop PTSD. Some people say it’s a social construct but in the largest and most diverse genetic study of PTSD to date, scientists from University of California San Diego School of Medicine and more than 130 additional institutions participating in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium found that PTSD has a strong genetic component similar to other psychiatric disorders. Genetics seem to accounts for between 5 and 20 percent of the variability in PTSD risk following a traumatic event. Resources: https://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2019-10-08-study-reveals-ptsd-has-strong-genetic-component.aspx