Pharmacogenomics Program

For more than three decades, the pharmacogenomics program has been a flagship pillar of the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at St. Jude. Scientists and clinicians within this program have pioneered pharmacogenomics discovery research and clinical implementation on a global scale. Our work focuses on elucidating the genetic basis of inter-patient variation in drug effects and then using this information to individualize pharmacotherapy therby ensuring maximal efficacy and minimal toxicity. Our discovery research uncovered a plethora of pharmacogenetic variants influencing common anti-cancer drugs, as described in our high-impact publications (NEJM, JAMA, Nature Medicine, Nature Genetics), and our implementation efforts have served as a model for others including housing the Clinical Pharmacogenetic Implementation Consortium (CPIC) and our work in this space serves as a model for others across the world. These efforts have enabled the clinical implementation of pharmacogenomics, shifting the paradigm of precision medicine in pediatric oncology and beyond.