EDUCATION
Annual Meeting Corporate Workshops
Did you miss your chance to view this year's Corporate Workshops?! We are excited to announce that select Corporate Workshops are now accessible to AMP members and others in the molecular diagnostics community. Please see below for direct links to view the workshops. The workshops will be available until November 2023.
Note: Please read the privacy policy and disclaimer before viewing the workshops. In order to view the workshops, you will be required to register with your contact information and agree to be contacted by the Host Company.
Click Here to View the Corporate Workshop Program
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Comprehensive Genomic Profiling for Tumor Micro-environment Assessment and Liquid Biopsy Analysis
Tumor molecular characterization is key for precision oncology. Here we present case studies to show the flexible use of a new comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) pan-cancer NGS assay targeting 650+ cancer-specific genes. The assay enables detection of key classes of somatic variants, including SNVs, small indels, CNVs, TLs, TMB, MSI, and RNA fusions. We will present preliminary results from two applications of the assay: 1) genomic profiling of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for high sensitivity detection of somatic variants and 2) interrogation of the tumor immune micro-environment in prostate cancer. This work demonstrates the utility of a modular NGS panel for tumor characterization.
During this workshop, the speakers will review the latest biomarker developments in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including emerging biomarkers, such as HER2 (ERBB2) mutations.
The oncologist and pathologist speakers from the same institution will discuss bringing together their complementary practices to provide the best possible diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to each individual patient. They will address how implementing next generation sequencing technology in-house can enable rapid turnaround times to facilitate clinical decision making.
They will share their best practices for implementing a collaborative molecular tumor board and strategies for working together towards individualized treatments for their patients.
Biomarker Testing in Advanced Prostate Cancer to Help Inform Clinical Decisions
This presentation reviews the clinical significance of biomarkers in advanced prostate cancer, including homologous recombination repair gene mutations. Additionally current guideline recommendations for molecular testing and other information to help guide testing, such as sample selection considerations, are presented.
Optimizing Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Pathways with Reflex Testing
Discuss the value of reflex testing and comprehensive genomic profiling provided by NGS and how to optimally combine them for full accurate and timely molecular characterization of NSCLC.
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Do More with Less: Better Genetic Answers in a Streamlined Analysis Workflow
Tech shortage? Tech burnout? Training new techs? Hear from Barbara Anderson, MS, MB(ASCP)CM, Analytical Specialist in the Division of Molecular Pathology, Genetics and Genomics at Duke University Health System about her experience implementing a new CFTR kit and using the AmplideX Trio workflow to streamline training and minimize tech time. Also hear how accessible, automated analysis software has made it easier for her lab leadership to review results. Learn how you can have a more streamlined lab while providing better genetic answers for three targets (CFTR, SMN1/2, and FMR1) in this workshop.
Molecular Controls for Emerging Diseases: The Need for Rapid Development and Harmonization
The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the need for expedited development of molecular controls that can standardize results of the myriad tests created to accurately diagnose emerging diseases. Armored Molecular Controls are synthetic, non-infectious, non-biological, nuclease-resistant full process controls that can be quickly designed and scaled to meet global supply demands. Learn how Armored Molecular Controls have been deployed to harmonize SARS-CoV-2 assays and rapidly developed to address the Monkeypox outbreak, as well as their application in wastewater surveillance for emerging diseases.
Genomic Data Quality: Connecting the Dots Between Bioinformatics and Physical Materials
Breaks in the data provenance between biological source materials and genomics data are challenges for scientific reproducibility as errors or omissions in both the metadata and the sequence data end up hampering accurate interpretation of results. To address this issue ATCC is working toward 100% data provenance for all biological materials in our collection. The ATCC Genome Portal represents the first genomic data repository where whole-genome sequencing assembly and genome annotation are being consistently applied under a quality assurance program that requires all data and procedures are fully authenticated and traceable back to physical biological materials in our culture collection.
Chair:
• Alka Chaubey, PhD, FACMG – Chief Medical Officer, Bionano Genomics
Presenters:
•Nikhil Sahajpal, PhD, Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellow, Greenwood Genetic Center, USA
•Rashmi Kanagal-Shamanna, MD – Director, Molecular Diagnostic Lab, Hematopathology Department, MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA
•Adam Smith, PhD, FCCMG, FACMG, Director, Cancer Cytogenetic Laboratory and Clinician Investigator, University Health Network, Canada
Combining OGM and Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) has proven to be a powerful solution to detect alterations across the variant continuum—from SNVs and small indels to all classes and sizes of SVs—in hematological samples. During this workshop, the panelists will review studies with multiple types of hematological malignancies, compare results generated from OGM as compared to traditional cytogenetics, and highlight the benefits of combining OGM with NGS for maximizing actionable results.
Comprehensive Assessment of HRD from Next-generation Sequencing and Optical Genome Mapping
Chair:
•Alka Chaubey, PhD, FACMG – Chief Medical Officer, Bionano Genomics
Presenters:
•Christopher Lum, PhD – Medical Director, Molecular Diagnostics, Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Inc. USA
•Ravindra Kolhe, MD, PhD, FCAP – Professor and Interim Chair, Dept of Pathology, Augusta University
•Rashmi Kanagal-Shamanna, MD – Director, Molecular Diagnostic Lab, Hematopathology Department, MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA
During this workshop, we will discuss common and innovative methodologies for HRD assessment, such as NGS, microarray and Optical Genome Mapping, and bioinformatics approaches for analysis of data, across solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Case studies and results will be overviewed across three presentations provided by speakers from leading institutions.
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Quality control rules (Westgard rules) balance the benefit of error detection with the cost of false rejection. This workshop will discuss the clinical utility of different viral load assays, how to determine allowable error (clinical thresholds) for a test, and how to use Unity QC data management solutions to choose and implement rules that strike the right balance between error detection and false rejection.
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Improving Access to Precision Oncology Through In-house Plasma Biopsy Testing
Precision oncology has proven success in providing better treatment results and has helped in identifying mechanisms of drug resistance and disease progression. However, a small number of patients in local communities have access to molecular testing which is integral to offering targeted treatments. Dr. Anthony Magliocco of Protean Biodiagnostics, explains how bringing testing capabilities in-house has helped his organization overcome challenges such as setting up bioinformatics capabilities, long turnaround time, clinical data management, and higher costs enabling his organization to facilitate access to precision oncology to local communities through a clinically actionable liquid biopsy panel.
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Join us to learn how researchers are using Cantata Bio’s novel genomics analysis tools and solutions to unlock access to genomic epigenomic and metagenomic information at unprecedented levels. Cantata Bio offers leading-edge proprietary NGS workflows to help its customers solve complex problems including detection of small and large genomic variants haplotype phasing of difficult regions (such as HLA and PGx genes) and microbial detection and quantification. Applications for Cantata Bio’s solutions span the fields of epigenetics cancer research infectious disease and more.
With the increasing number, complexity, and diversity of biomarkers to be tested in support of precision medicine approaches, limited tissue availability and patient health status can be barriers to genomic testing. Liquid biopsies provide an alternative to invasive tissue sample collection to match patients with appropriate therapies based on their genomic profile. In this workshop, we will discuss the rationale and drivers for the implementation of a CGP liquid biopsy assay to better support molecular testing and therapy matching. We will also highlight real-world evidence that demonstrates the clinical utility of including liquid biopsies in biomarker testing algorithms in both academic and community oncology practices.
Enabling In-house Comprehensive Genomic Profiling to Meet Increasingly Clinical Oncology Needs
Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) is becoming a critical component for evaluating treatment options in oncology patients. The ideal CGP assay provides information on both standard-of-care and emerging molecular biomarkers maximizes information obtained from limited biopsy samples and is straightforward to implement and operate in the pathology laboratory. Implementing CGP in-house using a hybrid capture-based CGP assay has made significant impact at various institutions.
High-throughput sequencing (HTS) of the T-cell receptor beta (TRB) and gamma (TRG) loci has become a valuable tool in the diagnostic workup for lymphoid neoplasms due to its high sensitivity specificity and versatility. Disease-specific clonosequences identified by diagnostic HTS assays can also serve as valuable biomarkers for detecting disease recurrence determining response to therapy guiding future management of patients and establishing endpoints for clinical trials. Although MRD monitoring by HTS presents unique advantages over other traditional methodologies important technical and bioinformatic considerations should be taken into account by clinical laboratories wanting to offer these services.
Custom Bioinformatics Software Pipeline Solutions to Bring High-throughput Sequencing In-house
NGS-based clonality testing has become an essential component of pathologic evaluation of hematolymphoid proliferations. As hematopathology progresses high-throughput tests and bioinformatics analyses are needed for diagnosis prognosis and to monitor therapeutic response. In this workshop we will present one approach to build a robust highly automated pipeline bioinformatic software solution for clonality assessments.
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On the Road to Accurate and Precise ctDNA Testing for Cancer Patient Management: A Panel Discussion
ctDNA assays have tremendous potential to advance genomics into routine clinical use. At the workshop, expert panelists will discuss the current state of ctDNA testing and the critical roles that standardization, proof testing through concordance studies, routine quality control, frequent proficiency testing and fit-for-purpose reference materials are playing to achieving our common goal of personalized molecular oncology testing.
Developing the 5 Minutes Point-of-care PCR Test: A Technology Revolutionizing Molecular Diagnostics
Never before have people around the world been impacted by rapid diagnostics as during the COVID pandemic. Many point-of-care solutions have been developed, though often compromising either time to result, complexity, sensitivity / specificity or cost in an effort to get to market quickly. In this workshop, LEX Diagnostics will give a unique insight into developing the low-cost, point-of-care PCR test that aims to diagnose SARS-COV-2 and Flu A/B in 5 minutes with high sensitivity and specificity. You will learn how a nearly 40-year-old technology that formed the cornerstone of human molecular diagnostics can be improved upon to revolutionize molecular diagnostics again.
AML Single-cell Multi-omics MRD (scMRD) and the Horizon of Clinical Utility
Join Mission Bio and our invited guest speakers as we discuss the tools and treatments shaping the battle to end cancer. The Tapestri Single-cell Multi-omics MRD (scMRD) Assay for AML provides institutions early access to our scMRD technology, which allows for MRD detection with unparalleled resolution, sensitivity, and specificity.
Speakers will share leveraging the scMRD technology to improve the identification of residual disease and potential therapeutic strategies, including an overview of scMRD data. We’ll also discuss opportunities for single-cell multi-omics in the clinic for MRD and beyond, and provide an insider look into our scMRD Early Access Program.
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We evaluated the ability of three technologies to detect partial tandem duplications in the KMT2A gene: 1) OGT’s RUO Next Generation Sequencing panel with KMT2A specific probes 2) an MLPA assay covering exons 4 and 36 of KMT2A and 3) Optical Genome Mapping;
Mutation profiles in AML/MDS patients from a large Southern Ontario cohort will be examined. Comparison of observed mutation frequencies to those in the literature highlight the utility of this measurement as an important quality control marker. Exceptional cases further emphasize the complexity of myeloid neoplasia biology and leukomeogenic processes.
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Clinical next-generation sequencing (NGS) has continued to advance precision oncology by enabling physicians to identify actionable biomarkers in cancer patients to aid in personalized therapy selection. Access to this specialized testing modality, however, remains a challenge with only 20% of advanced cancer patients receiving molecular profiling to help tailor their treatment path. To address this gap, PGDx has developed a FDA-cleared CGP tissue kit paired with best-in-class bioinformatics to empower local laboratories to implement clinical NGS in house, thereby reducing turnaround time to result and benefitting from payer coverage to help offset costs.
Guest Speakers:
Eli S. Williams, Ph.D. | Associate Professor of Pathology, Director of Genomics and Cytogenomics | School of Medicine, University of Virginia
Lawrence J Jennings, M.D., Ph.D | Associate Professor of Pathology, Director of Genomic Pathology | Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Over the last decade liquid biopsy has rapidly evolved both as a research strategy for biodiscovery purposes and as a clinical tool to accompany tissue-based genomic profiling for precision oncology. Liquid biopsy offers several advantages over tissue testing including reduced turnaround time to result minimized risk and cost greater sensitivity and better representation of tumor heterogeneity. From identification of new biomarkers for future drug development to directing patients to clinical trials and targeted therapies this testing strategy can be widely applied throughout the patient care continuum.
Guest Speaker:
Gang Zheng, M.D., Ph.D. | Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology | Mayo Clinic
Multiple clinical advantages exist by localizing NGS testing. In this workshop, Helen Fernandes, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology at Columbia University Medical Center will lead the discussion on how Pillar’s oncoReveal™ NGS products and simple workflows provide accurate and actionable results to allow clinicians to make timely and informed therapeutic decisions. The presentations from this workshop cover the rigorous evaluation and clinical validation of Pillar’s NGS products, and how Pillar’s Decision Medicine™ solutions can enable better, more informed outcomes for everyone, everywhere.
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Optimizing FFPE Extraction for Methylation Array and Sequencing Assays
Analysis of the methylation state of cancer samples is a powerful new tool for research and clinical applications. Ensuring high-quality high-yield DNA extraction from tiny FFPE samples is essential to optimize clinical testing. Here we describe best practices for extraction of DNA from FFPE to support downstream applications including methylation arrays and sequencing. A case study comparing extraction methods for methylation array profiling will be presented.
QIAGEN Digital Insights: Mitigating Variability in Somatic Variant Interpretation
As next-generation sequencing (NGS) panels are increasingly used in precision oncology, there’s an industry-wide issue of standardization: a high degree of variability in variant interpretation exists across laboratories. During this session, we will explore causes of inter-laboratory inconsistencies in somatic variant interpretation and discuss how clinical decision support (CDS) software, such as QIAGEN Clinical Insight, can help mitigate variability. To further our discussion, we will examine a peer-reviewed study comparing the consistency of variant assessments from eight laboratories and a study conducted with Mayo Clinic examining oncogenic assessment guidelines.
Speaker: Dr. Anna Strain, Ph.D, Infectious Disease Laboratory, Minnesota Department of Health
In the United States, population-based surveillance for hospitalized cases of laboratory-confirmed influenza is conducted in 14 sites. However, surveillance for other causes of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) is not well established. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) participates in ongoing hospital-based surveillance to characterize and monitor SARI. Surveillance effort for SARI aids in understanding the burden and etiology of circulating respiratory infections. MDH receives residual specimens when clinicians order testing, the number of specimens received reflects a clinician’s decision to test. The present study will discuss the SARI program within the MDH and compare testing methods, including the unique multiplexing capabilities for Seegene's respiratory virus panels, for the detection of circulating respiratory viruses and atypical pneumonia pathogens.
Democratizing NGS Sample Prep - How to Achieve Reliable, Robust, and Scalable Automation
In NGS workflows sample preparation remains complex and laborious. Robust and reliable NGS automation starts with a purpose-built chemistry paired with purpose-built automation. In this workshop learn about Tecan's MagicPrep™ NGS system which combines hardware engineering with expert NGS chemistry to offer NGS sample prep That Just Works™. Tecan’s NGS sample prep systems range from low throughput MagicPrep systems to high throughput DreamPrep™ systems. The expertise that Tecan has built in the area of NGS sample prep can also be made available to OEM partners through flexible bespoke developments.
Advanced NGS Methods for Molecular Testing in Hematological Malignances
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is becoming a critical component of molecular testing in both myeloid and lymphoproliferative neoplasms. During this workshop, hear from experts on the latest advances in the application of fast NGS for myeloid genomic profiling, myeloid measurable residual disease (MRD), and B-cell and T-cell sequencing applications for clonality assessment and detection of low-frequency residual clones. Talks will feature our latest NGS testing solutions, including the Ion Torrent Genexus System, which offers a fully complete end-to-end workflow capable of delivering results in just 1-2 days. See how these groundbreaking testing methods are helping to advance research in hemato-oncology care.
Advancing the Digital PCR Impact on Liquid Biopsy and Clinical Applications
From monitoring tumor biomarkers that inform treatment selection to tracking viral outbreaks using wastewater surveillance, dPCR enables clinical researchers and public health labs to quantitate nucleic acid targets reliably. The powerfully simple Absolute Q dPCR MAP technology enables less than 2% dead volume to help ensure rare target quantitation and detection are precise. Learn how a flexible workflow with 5-minute setup and 90-minute runs can expand the capabilities of your lab, and explore our latest innovations, including verified liquid biopsy assays, an optimized SARS-CoV-2 wastewater kit, and a custom assay design tool powered by more than 40 years of expertise.
Application of NGS in Microbiology; Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going?
The promise of unlocking new frontiers in microbiology using modern technologies like NGS has been at the forefront of discussion recently. With a significant increase in access to these technologies through pandemic response programs, we are now positioned to realize that promise through exploration and implementation of applications such as pathogen identification, tracking of AMR markers, and microbiome profiling. Limitations of cumbersome workflows, long turnaround times, and complex analyses have largely been removed, though there is still significant opportunity ahead of us in order to pivot many well-established culture-based approaches to newer molecular methods using NGS.
As leader in RT-PCR, Thermo Fisher Scientific committed to provide innovative, and flexible systems needed for laboratories to expand their IVD testing capabilities. For over 10 years, Thermo Fisher Scientific developed high-performance RT PCR (qPCR) instruments for clinical laboratories across the world. Our innovative IVDR compliant qPCR instruments showcase built-in smart features, user-friendly interfaces, integrated, intuitive, and modular software solutions along with user support and training. As a leader in RT-PCR, Thermo Fisher Scientific's molecular diagnostics solutions enable actionale results accurately and quickly to meet your laboratory needs.
Postoperative pain control remains a huge challenge for healthcare systems though there are currently no tools available to routinely select personalized medication. Multiple genes have been implicated in explaining some variation among postoperative response and studies indicate that single-gene pharmacogenetic analysis can improve postop outcomes. However, most professional guidelines only provide recommendations for single gene/drug interactions. Precision Genetics, in cooperation with MUSC Health System, is undertaking the PRospective Outcomes and Molecular Implementation Support Registry (PROMISRx) Study to better explain interpatient variability in response to perioperative treatment and lead to the creation of a tool for predicting postoperative outcomes.
Fast NGS for Targeted and Comprehensive Cancer Genomic Profiling
NGS implementation barriers including turnaround time and level of automation are being addressed. Join our workshop to hear how the Ion Torrent Genexus System enables labs to offer fast results, excellent sample success, and a true end-to-end workflow with integrated bioinformatics. With a growing menu of assays, the Genexus System can generate results in as little as 24 hrs for a targeted panel, and less than 48 hrs for a comprehensive panel with complex biomarkers including a genomic instability metric.
Complicated UTIs require rapid and accurate test results for pathogen identification and antibiotic susceptibility. Standard urine culture has significant shortcomings, including a long delay before results and negative or “mixed flora/contamination” results for clear cases of UTI. Guidance® UTI is a precision diagnostic providing the sensitivity of PCR plus Pooled Antibiotic Susceptibility (P-AST™) measuring antibiotic susceptibility against the pool of polymicrobial organisms. By providing rapid and actionable results to the clinician, Guidance® UTI is associated with improved patient outcomes, with a 67% reduction of inpatient admissions and an average $463 reduction per complicated UTI case in Medical Resource Utilization costs.
MAKO Medical Expands Surveillance Testing Menu to Include Monkeypox
MAKO Medical Laboratories, a national reference laboratory and leader in SARS-CoV-2 testing is now one of fewer than 100 laboratories across the country capable of performing surveillance testing for monkeypox research. Mako Medical has developed a workflow for monkeypox surveillance testing to support health state department in furthering the research of monkeypox viral epidemiology. The MAKO Medical team shares their journey of responding to the need for more surveillance testing capacity in the United States for monkeypox research. Gain insights from a question-and-answer discussion format of the team’s decision on their workflow, including sample types, automation, reagents, and throughput.
Monkeypox Outbreak Preparedness and Response
Molecular testing infrastructure is critical for laboratories to rapidly respond during public health emergencies. Partnerships with public and private sector entities to expand resources, innovation, and capabilities support these efforts and limit the spread of health risks within the community. The lessons learned from COVID-19 can be directly applied to the Monkeypox virus outbreak to improve preparedness, response, and community engagement for detection and prevention. Utilizing previously developed networks has dramatically reduced the response time to an emerging public health threat. Maintaining national laboratory capacity and infrastructure is a hedge against an increasingly interconnected world of transmissible pathogens.
Post-pandemic Molecular Diagnostics: Opportunity, Strategy, and Mechanisms
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of molecular diagnostics and compelled laboratories to quickly validate new methods and increase testing capacity. Aegis Sciences Corporation has performed over 13.8M COVID-19 tests and has a capacity over 100,000 tests/day, servicing a broad network of physicians, urgent care centers, nursing homes, public schools, departments of health, and retail pharmacies across the United States. As the virus moves towards an endemic state and testing demand decreases, Aegis leveraged the partnerships, technologies, and infrastructure developed during the COVID-19 surge for new diagnostic offerings and strategies to expand molecular testing and prepare for future public health needs.
