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Dynamic Shifts in Protein Profiling Given that changes such as these are occur- ring, you could easily imagine that you will, one day soon, arrive at your doctor's office carrying a thumb drive containing your entire genomic sequence. What then? Will your doctor simply download your genomic information, run a com- puter program, and generate a report about your chances of developing a disease or experiencing an adverse reaction to a particular medication? Unfortunately, that day is still far off. But pa- tients are already availing themselves of genetic testing services, and bringing their test results to their doctors' offices. The doctors, however, may be unprepared. Do you suppose your primary care physician has the time to research each mutation, deletion, frame-shift, or duplication of your genome? Do you see your doctor searching PubMed, reading through reams of papers to determine if the dif- ferences in your cytochrome P450 genes might limit your prescription options? Probably not, un- less your primary care physician is actually your personal physician, a healthcare provider solely devoted to you and your genome. Most likely you don't enjoy this sort of "personalized medicine." As a practical matter, personalized medicine will be realized through intermediaries that can see page 32 Malvern Instruments' MicroCal PEAQ-ITC was developed for drug discovery applications such as hit validation, lead optimization, and assay development. To demonstrate the value of preemptive pharmacogenetics, the Mayo Clinic developed the RIGHT Protocol (short for the Right Drug, Right Dose, Right Time: Using Genomic Data to Individualize Treatment). In a study that included 1,013 participants, RIGHT was used to show that virtually every participant had a "clinically actionable" genetic variant. This result pertained to just five genes that affect drug response. Taking the measure of protein populations is the essence of protein profiling, a venerable practice that is growing in sophistication as it becomes more proteomic in character. In fact, the phrase "protein profiling" is used synonymously with "proteome profiling." Arguably, though, protein profiling is the more general term, since a protein profile that encompasses a subset of the proteome may suffice for a particular purpose. Besides generality, "protein profiling" has the advantage of modesty. It may be taken as an admission that even the most extensive protein profiles are more sensitive to some proteins than others. In any case, some corners of the proteome remain dark. While protein profiling may lack proteomic omniscience, it is Richard A. Stein, M.D., Ph.D. Protein populations rise and fall from tissue to tissue and from cell to cell as organ- isms develop and do what they must to maintain health—or regain it, should they suffer illness—and each fluctuation, alone or in the context of other fluctuations, may serve as a signal, an indicator of an underlying dysfunction, a sign that an in- tervention is warranted, or evidence that an intervention is already having an effect. DeeAnn Visk, Ph.D. Technical hurdles to the wide-spread use of genetic data in hu- mans are disappearing. The cost of sequencing an entire human genome is sinking to around $1,000. Commercial companies are offering genetic tests for their clients' personal use. see page 12 35 Anniversary! th Leading the Way in Life Science Technologies September 1, 2016 GENengnews.com Pharmacogenetics Informs Clinical Practice 8 10 20 24 36 Protect Stem Cell Science from Stem Cell Quackery An "in Hand" Assay Is at Hand Awaken Dormant DNA, Epigenetically See the Bioprocess, Be the Bioprocess Gene Therapy 2016: The Pipeline Is Swelling