Get your funky sunglasses, UV paint and flower headbands ready because we are back! Join us for the Festival of Genomics and Biodata 2022, a spectacular four-day event – that is not only digital, but is also available on-demand for two weeks after the event.
These unusual times have been difficult to say the least, but the genomics community has continued to innovate and facilitate significant developments in the field. As well as being critical in the pandemic, genomics has further driven advancements in our understanding of health and disease. This year’s Festival of Genomics and Biodata will include presentations about ground-breaking research and discuss both accomplishments and future goals within the genomics and biodata space. With over 7,000 global attendees the Festival will enable you to make valuable connections as well as hear from leaders in the field.
As always, the Festival is free to attend for over 95% of our audience. And if that isn’t enough to win you over, check out some of the exciting speakers and events going on below!
What have we got in store for you?
- This year’s agenda has an extended focus on some of the areas you love, including clinical genomics, cancer genomics, single cell & spatial analysis, liquid biopsy, biodata, multi-omics and other advanced sequencing approaches.
- Attend from anywhere – As last year, the Festival agenda will be available digitally and also on-demand for two weeks following the event.
- Alongside the agenda, we also have some exciting workshops where you can learn more and gain expertise from our workshop leaders.
- We’re bringing it back! Yes, Talkaoke is back. With themed discussions and engaging, free-flowing conversations, you won’t want to miss it!
- We also have speed networking sessions so you can network with other people who are also working in or are interested in the same area as you!
- Hear more about some of the latest innovations and technology from the companies taking them to market by attending the Live Lounge sessions or Lightning Talk presentations.
The talk of the town
Below are just some of the amazing speakers who are joining us this year:
- We have some incredible keynotes from Sarah Teichmann (Head of Cellular Genetics, Wellcome Sanger Institute), Said Ismail (Director, Qatar Foundation), Paul Workman (Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Former Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Cancer Research) and Chris Wigley (CEO, Genomics England).
- Some of our Festival favourites are also returning, including Professor Dame Sue Hill (Chief Scientific Officer, NHS England), Heidi Rehm (Chief Genomics Officer, Mass General), Eric Green (Director, NHGRI) and Mark Effingham (Deputy CEO, UK Biobank).
- Klaus Pantel (Chairman, University Hamburg-Eppendorf) will be providing us with his expertise on liquid biopsy, taking us through the journey from discovery to clinical implementation.
- Broadcaster, author and Principal Investigator at the University of Cambridge, Giles Yeo, will be discussing the genetics of appetite control.
- Stephanie Devaney (Chief Operating Officer, All of Us Programme, NIH) will bring us up to speed with where the All of Us Programme is and what their next plans are.
- There are also lots more sessions this year for you biodata lovers! We have talks on data storage, novel informatic approaches for analysing medical data and data integration.
- What’s a Festival without drug discovery?! We have insightful sessions on using AI to optimise data-driven drug discovery, moving beyond proofs of concept for biomedical AI and advances in RNAi therapeutics.
- You can’t have the word genomics without omics! For this year’s Festival, we have several talks exploring the power of omics technologies to provide insights into health and disease.
- We have some insightful panel discussions this year from improving patient involvement in clinical research to how we can deliver on precision oncology.
- Independent researcher and full-time carer, Peter Coleman, will be sharing his story about he took his family’s diagnostic odyssey into his own hands.
- This year’s Festival will also have a larger than ever before focus on single cell and spatial genomics, and how these technologies are enabling us to explore cellular heterogeneity at unprecedented resolution.
- We also have sessions dedicated to important topics, such as polygenic risk scores, rare diseases, COVID-19, genomics education and increasing diversity within genomic medicine.
- Can we improve the gender balance in STEM? Hear Dame Janet Thornton (Senior Scientist, EMBL-EBI), Angela Douglas’ (Deputy CSO, NHS England) and others share their thoughts on this important issue.
I could continue to list all the exciting talks and speakers, but why don’t you just come and check it out yourself?! The Festival is taking place on 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th of January 2022. So, grab your ticket now and make sure you don’t miss what is going to be a truly global and memorable event!
For more information and to see if you’re eligible for a free ticket, please visit the Festival website.
