The Promise and Perils of Precision Medicine

Precision medicine holds great promise for improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of many diseases. Advances in precision medicine have already led to powerful new discoveries and several new treatments that are tailored to specific characteristics, such as a person’s genetic makeup, or the genetic profile of an individual’s tumor. As the number of effective targeted therapies grows, more patients are being assessed for genetic variations; indeed, some experts believe that sequencing a patient’s genome will soon be standard procedure. But there are many challenges being faced including the enormous costs of treatment, as well as regulatory, infrastructure, logistical, and ethical issues. This panel will explore the promise and perils of precision medicine.

Moderator:

Jamie-Crystal L. Wylie, FACHE, RN, CCRP

Regional Research Director

CHRISTUS Health

Panelists:

Jeff Dunkel

Chief Executive Officer

Optain

Gayle Patel, MS, CGC

Director, Genetic Risk Evaluation & Testing Program

Texas Oncology

Donald Richards, MD

Medical Director\Regional Research Medical Director

Texas Oncology

Speakers' Bios:

Originally from Memphis, Jeff Dunkel serves as the Global CEO of Optain Heath. Jeff’s experience spans from startup clinics to research institutions, includes smaller device companies to Fortune 500 healthcare mainstays, and has involved successful exit strategies of acquisitions and divestitures. His contracting strategies, which included accountability for patient outcomes and cost guarantees, have been recognized by Forbes magazine for leading the industry in risk share arrangements. Jeff led efforts to create new CMS technology categories and eight Section X ICD-10pcs codes for a previously unrecognized area of orthopaedic medical devices. He holds an advisory role with the US Department of Health and Human Services Center for Clinical Innovation, sits on the Executive Committee for the Food and Drug Administration-sponsored Medical Device Epidemiology Network, assisted in authoring the FDA’s PREPT task force report, is a mentor for small businesses working with the National Institute of Health, held two former population health advisory roles with the White House, is a board member for the Center of Global Health Innovation’s Health Equity and Crisis Coordination division, chairs Mindset Medicals Strategic Advisory Board, and actively contributes to national legislation language with members of Congress and the Senate. Jeff has served previously as the CSO at Mindset Medical, the EVP of Strategy at Titan Spine (exited to Medtronic), CEO of NuHope, and the President’s Advisory Committee for Johnson and Johnson’s laboratory division. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science from the School of Public Health at Indiana University, where he spent three years in pre-med studies and two in business studies.

Gayle Patel is a Certified Genetic Counselor who works at Texas Oncology as the Director of the Genetic Risk Evaluation and Testing or GREAT Program. Gayle received her master’s degree in Genetic Counseling at The University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Prior to being part of the Texas Oncology Team, Gayle was a genetic counselor in a general genetics clinic for the Seton Healthcare system in Austin, Texas providing prenatal, pediatric and adult genetic counseling for 6 years.

As the GREAT Program director Gayle provides educational and operational support to Texas Oncology providers who offer genetic evaluations in their clinics. Gayle and a team of 5 certified genetic counselors support over 140 providers across 210 Texas clinic locations to bring cancer genetic risk evaluations to more individuals in need. Since 2012, Texas Oncology has provided genetic evaluations to over 70,000 Texans!

Dr. Donald Richards is a board-certified medical oncologist and hematologist with Texas Oncology, where he practices in East Texas. He earned his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Baylor College of Medicine, followed by his M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He completed his internal medicine training at Bexar County Teaching Hospital in San Antonio and later completed a hematology/oncology fellowship at UT Health San Antonio.

In his clinical and research roles, Dr. Richards contributes broadly to cancer care and innovation. He serves as the Medical Director for Texas Oncology Tyler, leading medical oversight and local medical strategy. He also holds the position of Regional Research Director for the Northeast Texas Region at Texas Oncology, guiding clinical trials, translational research, and scientific collaboration across the region.

Within The US Oncology Network, Dr. Richards is active on the GI Cancer Committee for the Sarah Cannon Research Institute. He is also involved with the precision medicine committee for Texas Oncology. Over his career, he has published over 350 papers and abstracts in the area of oncology research.

Jamie-Crystal L. Wylie, FACHE, RN, CCRP is an accomplished healthcare leader and the Regional Research Director for CHRISTUS Health's Northeast Texas ministries. With a strong background in clinical operations and healthcare administration, she is passionate about bridging innovation, research, and patient care in rural health systems.

She holds a Master of Healthcare Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M

University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas at Arlington. Jamie-Crystal is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Certified Clinical Research Professional with over seven years of experience in clinical research leadership.

Deeply committed to both her profession and her community, she serves as a Legacy Board Member of the East Texas Chapter of ACHE, is an active member of the Junior League of Tyler, and teaches Sunday school at Flint Baptist Church. Outside of her professional roles, Jamie-Crystal enjoys the outdoors, traveling, playing Mahjong with friends, and spending time with her four children.