Opening Remarks 2012

“The Pace of Personalized Medicine Development: The Narcissome in Action”

Many changes have occurred since our last Symposium – biomedical science is more powerful (which happens every year), the world of “omics” is broader, and deeper thought is happening about the connections between great research and medical applicability. Several stunning clinical trials have been reported in the past year, including trials of a single individual (n=1). Such trials make an odd but interesting connection between “clinical” and “personalized,” though they also appear to elevate anecdotal evidence to the level of science. But if such work is done carefully, it can provide another view of one’s biology, with an emphasis on human differences rather than similarities. Although the nature of epistemology will be tested by this so-called “n=1 paradigm,” the application of rigorous scientific method could lead to significant medical breakthroughs, which in turn could change the very nature of how we decide on best medical practices.