Session Chair Profile
Ph.D., Director of the Genomic Sciences Focus Area at BD Technologies
Biography
Dr. John Mikszta was appointed as Director of the Genomic Sciences Focus Area at BD Technologies (BDT) in 2013. In this role, Dr. Mikszta is responsible for strategic planning and technical leadership of BD’s efforts in sample/library preparation for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and in single cell genomics. Prior to this role, Dr. Mikszta served in various R&D leadership capacities since joining the Company in 1999. These roles have spanned various technology areas including drug and vaccine delivery, materials science, cell & molecular biology and cell therapy enablement. Dr. Mikszta joined BD after completing post-doctoral research in the Department of Immunology at the Duke University Medical Center and received a Ph.D. in Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis from the Northwestern University School of Medicine in 1996. Dr. Mikszta has published over 25 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, book chapters and review articles and is an inventor on over 40 issued or pending patents. Dr. Mikszta has received grant funding from the US Department of Defense, the NIH and other organizations and was co-recipient of the 2008 New York Academy of Sciences Innovation in Industry Award for his pioneering work on vaccine development and delivery.
Talk
Single Cell Genomic Analysis of Solid Tumors and Liquid Biopsies
Powerful new genomic tools are enabling development of an understanding of cancer at the single cell level. Here, we describe the use of BD FACS and BD Precise to characterize cell surface phenotypes and quantify gene expression from solid tumors and circulating tumor cells. Some of the unique insights resulting from this work will be discussed.
Session Abstract
Session Synopsis: Single-cell genomics, with the emergence of “next-generation” DNA sequencing, has matured. Today it is routinely used for gene expression quantification of thousands of single cells to better understand the genomic diversity at the cellular level, and to help identify new approaches for targeted clinical diagnostics and therapies in fields such as immunology, immune-oncology, and precision medicine.
