An amazing innovation story has been unfolding the past few years in the field of gene sequencing, which is creating one of today’s biggest computing challenges. New DNA sequencing tools are improving at such a rapid pace that scientists say it will soon be possible to generate the 3-billion-letter signature of an individual’s DNA for $1,000, and possibly in as little as 15 minutes. This is the essential stuff scientists say can help bring about the era of personalized medicine.
Much of this innovation is occurring here in the U.S., and few places other than Silicon Valley have the necessary computing and biotech chops to pull this off. So Xconomy is excited to announce that we are bringing together some of the world leaders in this emerging field for a half-day summit on October 24 in San Francisco, titled “Computing in the Age of the $1,000 Genome.“
We have a stellar lineup of entrepreneurs, scientists, and investors who will come together to discuss this challenge in a series of interactive, moderated chats. Here’s who is confirmed so far:
—Hugh Martin, CEO, Pacific Biosciences
—Cliff Reid, CEO, Complete Genomics
—Atul Butte, Associate Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine
—Sue Siegel, General Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures
—Ashley Dombkowski, Chief Business Officer, 23andMe
—Sujal Patel, President, Isilon Storage Division, EMC
—Andreas Sundquist, CEO, DNAnexus
—Jim Karkanias, Senior Director, Applied Research and Technology, Microsoft Health Solutions
—Rob Arnold, General Manager, Geospiza business unit, PerkinElmer
—Tim Hunkapiller, Consultant, Life Technologies
There are still major barriers standing in the way of a future based on genomic medicine, and we will plan to cover that territory. For starters, the genomic data will need to be stored, secured, backed up, analyzed, and visualized for scientists to make much sense of it all. And we will be sure to touch on some important implications of all this genomics work, for medicine and society at large.
This event will take place from 2 pm to 6:30 pm on Monday, October 24, at the Byers Auditorium on UCSF’s Mission Bay campus. You can find more information on how to save a seat at the super saver discount rate by clicking here. I’m looking forward to this one. See you there on October 24.
