Application of genomics and bioinformatics in pharma: Focus on myeloproliferative neoplasms
Erin Crowgey, Ph.D
Associate Director of Bioinformatics
InCyte
Abstract: Progression to myelofibrosis (MF) represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality for patients with polycythemia vera (PV); however, predictors of progression remain incompletely understood. REVEAL (NCT02252159) is a multicenter, prospective, observational study that followed patients with PV for a median of 4 years with optional peripheral blood collection every 12 months. Of the 2510 patients enrolled in REVEAL, 135 progressed to MF during the study, of whom 114 had an enrollment biospecimen. Clinical and genomic data from REVEAL were utilized to investigate the tumor clonal architecture and molecular mechanisms that drive PV transformation to MF. Non-driver mutations that are present before transformation may provide the ability to identify patients with PV at high risk for transformation to MF. Sequencing efforts of additional patients from REVEAL, including longitudinal intra-patient biospecimens, are underway, and will enable the study of changes in clonal architecture over time.
Short Bio: My interests are in cancer genomics, applications of machine learning models for precision medicine, and data analytics. I have a diverse background in molecular biology and translational bioinformatics. My career started with industry and developing molecular biology techniques for a broad range of applications, including crop genetics and biopharma. After completion of my PhD, I transitioned into academy at Nemours Children’s Hospital focusing on developing a pediatric specific genomics program focusing on cancers and rare disorders. Recently, I joined a biopharma company, Incyte, unraveling novel biology for new target discovery platforms and analyzing complex clinical trial data to understand modes of actions for our comprehensive drug portfolio.
