Advancing Precision Medicine Symposium 2026: Data Science for Precision Medicine and Public Health
Advancing Precision Medicine Symposium – Data Science for Precision Medicine and Public Health
Tuesday, October 6th, 2026
8am – 5:00pm
Health Sciences Learning Center (HSLC)
750 Highland Ave. Madison, WI 53705
Call for Posters
We invite all attendees to showcase their work at the Poster Session during the 5th Annual Advancing Precision Medicine Symposium.
When registering, please select the Poster Presenter ticket option – you’ll receive a questionnaire to then submit your poster title and topic.
Join us in sharing your research, networking with peers, and advancing the conversation in precision medicine!
Thank you to all Speakers, presenters and attendees of our 2025 Annual Symposium!
Registration Now Open!
Registration via WebEx Events (formerly Socio)
Please note that the Speaker option is for invited speakers. If interested in presenting a Poster, please select the poster registration ticket option.
*Agenda sessions subject to change as we finalize the schedule*
2026 Keynote Speaker Spotlight: Erika Kim, PhD
ARPA-H Program Manager, Scalable Solutions
Dr. Erika Kim joined ARPA-H as a Program Manager in September 2025, on detail from the National Cancer Institute. Kim is a Senior Program Director leading strategic programs at the intersection of data science, data interoperability, and cancer research. With more than two decades of pioneering work at the intersection of data science and biomedicine, Kim brings deep expertise in translational informatics, integrating and interpreting complex biomedical datasets, and building resilient, cloud-native infrastructures that accelerate discovery and health impact.
She received her doctorate from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Human Genetics and Molecular Biology and carried out postdoctoral research focusing on molecular mechanisms of leukemia at the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Agenda
*Agenda sessions subject to change as we finalize the schedule*
Day at a Glance
| Time | Session | Session Agenda |
| 8:00-9:00 | Registration | Breakfast, networking, and poster setup |
| 9:00-9:05 HSLC 1306 | Welcome & Introduction | April Hall and Mehreen Kisat |
| 9:05-9:25 HSLC 1306 | CPM Updates | Muhammed Murtaza |
| 9:30 –10:30 HSLC 1306 | Keynote Speaker | Erika Kim, ARPA-H Program Manager |
| 10:30-11:00 HSLC 1306 | Break | Coffee/Tea |
| 11:00-11:15 HSLC 1306 | Dean Remarks | Nita Ahuja, Dean SMPH |
| 11:15-11:55 HSLC 1306 | Travel Award Talks | 1. Carstyn Joiner (Wei Xu) 2. Christina Jurotich (Emery Bresnick) 3. Yunxia Liu (Lixin Rui) 4. Aqsa Khalid (Muhammed Murtaza) 5. Eddie Dominguez (Mehreen Kisat) 6. Lia Margolin (Bryn Webb) |
| 12:00-12:30 Atrium | Posters | |
| 12:30-1:15 Atrium | Lunch | |
| 1:20-2:40 HSLC 1306 | Scientific Talks | |
| “The Precision Medicine Frontier in Alzheimer’s: Multi-ancestry Genetic Prediction and Metabolic Dysregulation” | Corinne Engelman MSPH, PhD Vice Chair, Professor of Population Health Sciences, Director of Graduate Programs | |
| “Building single-cell and spatial atlases for human diseases” | Huy Dinh, PhD Oncology Department: Computational biology, Tumor microenvironment heterogeneity | |
| “Integrating Genetics and Clinical Risk for Precision Health” | Akash Kumar, MD, PhD Co-founder and Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, MyOme Attending Physician, Stanford Genetics | |
| 2:40-2:50 Atrium | Break | Coffee/Tea |
| 2:55-4:00 HSLC 1306 | Shark Tank | 5 finalists – 5 min talk, 5 min Q&A 🔹 Chloe Fouilloux PI: Jessica Hite | Department of Pathobiological Sciences Molecular Markers and Targets of Helminth Transmission 🔹 Brendan Joyce PI: Ong | Biostatistics and Medical Informatics Genomic Characterization of Syndromic and Non-Syndromic Craniosynostosis: Integrating Whole-Genome Sequencing with Phenotypic Classification 🔹 Abram Bell PI: Ksenija Bernau | Department of Medical Physics Early Detection of Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in the Lung Using a Fibronectin-Targeting PET Tracer 🔹 Zhongmou Jin PI: Lang | Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Resolution of Source and Consequences of STAT6-Mediated Inflammatory Pathway Activation in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma 🔹 Huiren Wang PI: Ting Fu | Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy A PKCζ-SHP Phosphorylation Signature for Precision Characterization of Colorectal Cancer |
| 4:05-4:15 HSLC 1306 | Award Presentation and Closing Remarks | April Hall and Mehreen Kisat |
| 4:15-5:00 Atrium | Posters & Reception | Hors d’oeuvres, posters, & networking |
Symposium Co-Chairs
Mehreen Kisat, MBBS, MS
Department of Surgery
Assistant Professor
April Hall, PhD, MS, CGC
Assistant Professor (CHS)
Division of Genetics and Metabolism
Assistant Director of Education and Outreach
Center for Precision Medicine
Associate Director of Research
UW Genetic Counselor Studies Program
Symposium Speakers
Corinne Engelman, MS, PhD
Vice Chair, Professor,
Director of Graduate Programs,
Population Health Sciences,
UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Huy Dinh, MS, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology
Head of Dinh Computational Biology Lab at McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research
Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA
Dean, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Professor, Department of Surgery
Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs, UW–Madison
Akash Kumar, MD, PhD
Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, Co-Founder,
MyOme
Shark Tank Panelists
Amy Kind, MD, PhD
Associate Dean for Social Health Sciences and Programs
Director, Center for Health Disparities Research (CHDR)
Professor, Department of Medicine
UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Erika Kim, PhD
Program Manager,
Scalable Solutions,
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
Christopher Konop, PhD
Innovation and Commercialization Specialist,
Venture Manager,
UW Health
Kurt Zimmerman, MS
Senior Director,
Office of Biohealth Industry Partnerships,
UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Jon Audhya, PhD
Vice Dean,
Office of Basic Research, Biotechnology, and Graduate Studies,
UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Professor, Department of Biomolecular Chemistry