The mission of the Society is to improve patient care and outcomes by facilitating implementation of functional assays into clinical care. The purposes are to foster research and development of functional precision medicine solutions across medicine; to accelerate the dissemination of new and relevant research findings among interested parties; to promote education and training about functional precision medicine; to foster solutions for clinical testing of functional precision medicine approaches; and to improve efficiency of adoption of functional precision medicine solutions through interaction with academia, regulatory bodies, industry, and patients.
Become a Member
PMNET Forum 2024 - October 10-11, Riga Latvia
Join SFPM members at the next PMNET Forum! Participation is complimentary. This forum is an in-person event and has a limited availability. Registration is compulsory and is made on a first come-first served basis.
Registration includes:
- Admission to the program
- Coffee breaks on October 10-11
- Lunch on October 10-11
March 11 - 13, 2025
Hyatt Regency Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS:
Anthony G. Letai, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
Elaine R. Mardis, The Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
Peter Horak, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
Alice Soragni, University of California, Los Angeles, California
FUNCTIONAL AND GENOMIC PRECISION MEDICINE IN CANCER: DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, COMMON GOALS
Precision medicine applied to oncology aims to match each patient to the right therapy. Heretofore, genomics has been the main tool in performing precision medicine. Yet, many cancer patients lack actionable alterations as there is a limited set of highly predictive biomarkers to accurately match patients to effective therapies. There is a need to extend the benefits of precision medicine to a larger proportion of cancer patients. Therefore, additional strategies need to be explored. One important approach is functional precision medicine, a strategy by which living patient tumor cells are exposed to therapies and signals measured to predict clinical response. The goal of this AACR Special Conference is to share experiences among those in the genomics and functional precision oncology arenas, to accelerate the progress toward routine clinical adoption of combined approaches in the oncology clinic. At this exciting program in Boston we will share technical, clinical, and logistical experiences, as well as our understanding of the barriers to widespread adoption of genomic and functional precision medicine in the treatment of the cancer patient, and how these approaches might be combined to provide more powerful tools than either alone.
Do you want to help shape the future of the SFPM? Self-nominate or nominate a peer for a board position today and lend your experience and input!
Open positions for this election cycle include
Positions will be filled by vote of the Professional or Associate members in good standing. You must be a Professional or Associate member to view the form and apply.
The SFPM arose out of recognition of the unmet need in matching cancer patients to the therapies best suited for them. Through the use of functional assays, we hope to bridge the gap between patients and the treatments best suited for their cancer. This is possible through research, communication, and collaboration amongst our members and with outreach to the cancer therapy community as a whole. To further the mission, we offer our members the following exclusive benefits
Applications for membership may be submitted at any time during the year. We look forward to having you onboard!
Come join us for our Virtual Monthly Seminar which will bring together a unique mix of pharmaceutical, academic and technology leaders, the series should not be missed for those interested in the use of assaying technology to further biomarker discovery, drug R&D and personalized healthcare outcomes.
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
12:00 PM EDT
Meeting URL: www.zoom.us
Meeting ID: 828 5622 5783
Passcode: 027718
Stay connected, stay ahead. Know everything that matters, as it happens. From the very latest industry news, reports, papers, and studies. Would you like to see your news here? Email the admin and we will get it linked. Check out our news archive for all past stories and posts.
Cell density, the ratio of cell mass to volume, is an indicator of molecular crowding and a fundamental determinant of cell state and function. However, existing density measurements lack the precision or throughput to quantify subtle differences in cell states, particularly in primary samples. Here we present an approach for measuring the density of 30,000 single cells per hour by integrating fluorescence exclusion microscopy with a suspended microchannel resonator.
Eighty-five percent of diagnosed cases of lung cancer are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this group, 5% of patients show molecular alterations in the ALK gene involved in cell multiplication. The use of inhibitors against this oncogene — one of the most effective strategies against this type of cancer — has benefited many patients. But, is it possible to know if the treatment will be effective in all those affected?
The B-cell lymphoma 2 inhibitor venetoclax has shown promise for treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, identifying patients likely to respond remains a challenge, especially for those with relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease. We evaluated the utility of ex vivo venetoclax sensitivity testing to predict treatment responses to venetoclax-azacitidine in a prospective, multicenter, phase 2 trial.
Key Points:
This year during two days in October, the 3rdPrecision Medicine Networking forum took place in Riga, Latvia. For the second time this forum included a special session for Functional precision medicine, organized by SfPM member Inese Cakstina-Dzerve, RSU, Latvia (former Fulbright fellow at Letai lab). This session was co-chaired with speaker from last year -Caroline Heckman (FIMM, Helsinki, Finland). A speaker team consisted of 2 SfPM board members (Diana Azzam and Christian Regenbrecht) and 2 Letai lab alumni(Triona Ni Chonghaile and Inese Cakstina-Dzerve).
The Society recently held elections for several open seats including two newly created seats which aim to include commercial sector representation.
Congratulations to our newest board members:
The following members have been reelected for another term:
Click the button below to learn more about our board.
Many SFPM stalwarts will be speaking at the PMNET meeting October 10-11, Riga Latvia. Please visit pmnetforum.com to register for this exciting meeting!
The SFPM is growing, and we need financial support. While we collect annual individual membership dues, these only fund a fraction of our needs. To plan for the future, the SFPM must secure a stable financial basis from which to plan. Even though the Board is made up of unpaid volunteers, we nonetheless have significant costs to defray, particularly with respect to annual meetings and administrative support.
Contributions from all tiers will be recognized by name on the SFPM website, however, contributions at the Precision tier will receive preferred logo placement and recognition on the SFPM website, logo and name recognition at each monthly seminar, and institution name and logo prominently displayed at our annual meeting and on meeting marketing materials. Precision tier supporters will also receive ten (10) complimentary memberships to be distributed amongst their institutions. Functional tier supporters will receive name and logo recognition during at least six of our monthly seminars as well as name and logo recognition on our website. Functional tier supporters will also receive five (5) complimentary memberships to be distributed amongst their institutions. Advocate tier supporters will receive name and logo recognition on our website and one (1) complimentary membership. We hope you agree with us that “the future is functional”, and that the SFPM is getting us there faster.
