Meet the next generation of medicine

People typically get serious about their health in their mid-50s. However, a growing body of research indicates that starting years earlier is the most effective way to reduce the risk of disease.

Thursday afternoon at the Future in Review (FiRe) conference, Samir Damani, Founder and CEO, MD Revolution, Jonathan DeHart, President and CEO, NorthShore Bio, William Hearl, Founder and CEO, Immunomic Therapeutics and Larry Smarr, Director, Calit2, UC San Diego/UC Irvine discussed actions they are taking to make preventative healthcare a reality.

DeHart is focused on bringing biotechnology, computing and semiconductor manufacturing together to accelerate the revolution in ‘digital biology’. He is laser focused on solving the “molecular information” problem and, with the help of his team, is developing electrical sensors to advance the capability and speed of molecular measurement.

Immunomic Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that develops protein-based vaccines for the treatment of allergy and other human health targets. Hearl said, “I live in the world of proteins which are 3 dimensional.” In order to harness the power of proteins, he predicted, “We will need additional computing power… think about disease as a software bug. That is where we are going.”

According to panelists, a key trend is wearable health and fitness devices that provide patients with data that previously was only in doctors’ hands. Patients now use this data to take charge of their health and wellness which ultimately results in a healthier quality of life. Smarr concluded that, “Quantitative information drives behavior.”

Damani summed up the discussion nicely, “”Medicine is about understanding disease at its root… Genetic information is the result of the correlation between disease and predisposition.”​