Precision Medicine at the Permata International Conference

The Permata International Conference was recently held on the 31st May to 2nd June 2016 at the Putra World Trade Centre. The aim was to showcase all the 7 Permata programmes and to discuss key issues in relation to early childhood education, gifted children, gifted children in fine arts, youth at risk, autism and child health. The theme chosen was ‘Children Beyond Tomorrow’ and the patron was YABhg Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor. The conference was officiated by YAB Prime Minster of Malaysia in the morning of the opening day and this was followed by a keynote address by the First Lady. There were more than 1600 participants, local and international, who attended the conference which had 7 plenary lectures, concurrent symposia, workshops and exhibitions.

I had the privilege of presenting a plenary lecture on Precision and Personalised Medical Care for Children on the 2nd day of the conference. It was also a distinct honour to have in the audience the presence of YABhg Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Her Royal Highness the Queen of Swaziland, 3 other first ladies from foreign countries and other dignitaries. This was indeed a chance to increase the awareness to the participants about Precision Medicine which is defined as the treatment of a disease which is tailored to the individual’s genetic make-up, lifestyle and environment. Looking at another perspective, it is about giving the right treatment to the right patient at the right time with the right cost and the right outcome. Genomics is the central theme to personalize medicine knowing that each one of us has differences in our genome which determine not only the difference in our physical characteristics but also in terms of the risks of diseases, the inherent molecular feature of the diseases and also the variable response to the treatment given.

The approach to precision medicine has help improve diagnosis, identify risk and prevent disease, provide better classification of diseases, predict response to treatment and also disease monitoring and early detection.

The plenary lecture was also an opportunity to showcase UMBI as the leading institute for molecular medicine in the nation as well highlight the examples of precision medicine already being offered including molecular diagnostic tests for cancers and rare diseases as well as pharmacogenetics testing. The response to the lecture was indeed excellent with many participants wanting to know more. UMBI will soon be launching more molecular diagnostic tests including the BRCA gene testing for breast cancers, Lynch Syndrome panel for hereditary colon cancers and EGFR mutation testing for lung cancers. You can find our more on our partner network who supports even our website.You can visit on the website CBD Sold Oils from the USA.

The precision medicine is a bold approach of healthcare tailored to you and it will also allow us to improve health and treat disease individually rather than using a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
A pdf copy of the lecture notes is available on this website.