CAGC Annual Education Conference (AEC)

The CAGC Annual Education Conference will be held at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland in St. John’s Newfoundland.

CAGC Scientific Program:

• A short course devoted to the Genetics Clinic of the future (including talks on the evolving roles for GCs in personalized medicine and the challenges these will pose)
• Plenary sessions on the intersection of genetic counseling and social media, novel gene therapies, and documenting the value of GCs
• Back by popular demand: abstract sessions, practice specific and concurrent workshops  

Find more information about the conference here.

Breakfast Seminar: Optimization of Whole Exome Sequencing to Boost Yield Diagnosis in Rare Disease Diagnostics

Date: Saturday, October 13th

Time: 7:00 – 8:15 AM

Speaker: Tero-Pekka Alastalo MD, PhD

***This conference has been approved by the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors (CAGC) for 1.25 CECs.***

Whole exome sequencing (WES) based genetic testing has become a powerful diagnostic tool for clinicians working with rare disease patients. Despite technological breakthroughs, WES testing presents numerous challenges for laboratories and clinical interpretation teams.

This seminar will highlight technical strategies which enable higher diagnostic yield from laboratory, bioinformatics, and interpretation perspectives. Patient examples will be used to describe the utilization of WES testing and the challenges involved.

Learning Objectives

• Participants will be able to describe WES technology and explain its correct use.
• Participants will be able to evaluate a WES strategy’s technical performance and quality.

A hot breakfast will be served along with coffee and tea service. Space is limited. Make sure to reserve your seat!

About the speaker:

Tero-Pekka is the Chief Medical Office, President, and co-founder of Blueprint Genetics. He has an MD degree and is specialized in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology. He also has a PhD in molecular and cellular biology where he studied molecular genetic mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases.

Meet your CAGC 2018 team:

Meena Kumar Sales Director of Canada

Background:  From Vancouver, BC, Meena has provided clinical, technical, and sales support to all ordering clinicians throughout Canada. She has a Master of Science in Human Genetics from Sarah Lawrence College and is an ABGC certified genetic counsellor. With the expansion of the Canadian team, Meena will now be a direct resource for Western Canada and continues to be responsible for Canadian sales operations.

Expertise:  Meena has clinical experience in a prenatal and general genetics setting, as well as, industry account management experience in newborn screening, prenatal screening, and genetic testing sales and support.  She is excited about the creative evolution of genetic counseling.

Christine Davies Genetic Services Consultant at Blueprint Genetics

Background: Christine has an MSc in Genetic Counseling from the University of Toronto and is an ABGC Certified Genetic Counsellor. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, she is responsible for providing comprehensive test information, resources, and support to genetic counselors, geneticists, and other clinicians in Eastern Canada.

Expertise: She has clinical experience in pediatrics, cardiac, prenatal, cancer, and general genetics. She also has experience in newborn screening, including facilitation of results, communications, education, and data analysis. She is passionate about quality and innovation in the workplace.