Precision Omics Collaboratory – UCI Health Affairs

Founding Directors: Leslie Thompson, PhD, Suzanne Sandmeyer, PhD, and Ed Monuki, MD, PhD

Our Vision: Patient-Centric Healthcare

Precision health is the future of good health and at UC Irvine this is already a reality. We use big data to improve healthcare quality, safety and equity, by tailoring care to the individual while learning from all those who came before. This is healthcare that is specifically designed for you, using insights gained from vast data. This results in more effective treatments, fewer side effects and a holistic approach to your health and wellness. UCI established the Institute for Precision Health (IPH) to develop technologies and methods capable of resolving data-intensive issues, thereby fulfilling the promise of individualized diagnostics and therapies.

A pivotal element of this program is the Precision Omics unit of the IPH, tasked with the generation and analysis of data (transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and epigenomics) to promote the advancement of precision health. While omics data collection programs exist nationwide, UCI’s unique program focuses on translating omics discoveries into FDA-approved tests that can directly benefit patients and other individuals.

The Precision Omics Collaboratory will significantly propel us towards actualizing precision health for UCI Health providers and patients. It has been selected as one of 12 high-impact research programs and will be located adjacent to the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building.

In These New Spaces

Experienced scientists and clinicians at the cutting edge of precision health technologies, together with new recruits, will collaborate to translate discoveries into FDA-approved tests to make precision health testing a reality.

Interdisciplinary teams including wet-bench and computational and statistical scientists will work side-by-side to advance human omics research.

Future leaders will be trained by the best in leading-edge science.

Multiple gathering spaces will be available to bring together scientists from different fields for lectures and conferences and provide opportunities to share exciting developments in precision health with our public communities.

Our Competitive Advantage

Empowered by the distinctive One Health approach of UCI Health Affairs that transcends disciplinary boundaries, the Precision Omics Collaboratory comprises basic research, clinical and computational faculty and staff from the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, which includes the schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, and population and public health, as well as UCI Health, our regional healthcare delivery system partnering with the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute. With brilliant minds working together in teams instead of in silos, our experts will push the boundaries of innovation and profoundly advance precision health.

UCI’s healthcare data strategies have been so valuable that they have been shared nationwide by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and we are now working directly with the National Institutes of Health on cloud-based health solutions ensuring that every patient benefits. This is empowered by patients contributing to a rich tapestry of data, informing care for future patients. And as each patient helps refine and improve this approach, it creates another cycle of continuous advancement. Patient control and privacy are paramount when using data. Our precision health program is guided by the highest standards of data security and respect for privacy, utilizing anonymized data to safeguard personal and identifiable information.

The Precision Omics Collaboratory presents an exceptional opportunity for UCI to address the acknowledged deficit in precision health efforts on a national level – the significant skewing of data away from communities with the greatest need. The diverse population of UCI Health and Orange County, inclusive of many Hispanic and Latino communities, provides a distinct opportunity to develop universally relevant clinical tests and fulfill the long-awaited promise of providing precision health testing to those most needing it.

Current Team

The Collaboratory unites our faculty members from the Genomics Research and Technologies Hub and the Pathology Collaboratory from the School of Medicine, enabling the IPH Precision Omics unit to translate omics discoveries into point-of-care and FDA-approved laboratory-developed tests.

Leslie Thompson, PhD

Donald Bren and Chancellor’s Professor, Psychiatry & Human Behavior, Neurobiology and Behavior and Biological Chemistry; Associate Director of IPH Precision Omics unit

Jana Lipkova, PhD

Assistant Professor, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

Edwin Monuki, MD, PhD

Professor and Chair, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine; Professor, Developmental & Cell Biology

Stanley Ng, PhD

Assistant Professor, Biological Chemistry

Nick Pannunzio, PhD

Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology/Oncology and Biological Chemistry

Abraham Qavi, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor in Residence, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

Suzanne Sandmeyer, PhD

Professor, Biological Chemistry and Microbiology & Molecular Genetics; Associate Director of IPH Precision Omics unit and Director of Genomics and Research Technologies Hub

Join Us in Making an Impact

We are seeking philanthropic partners to establish a home for the UCI Precision Omics Collaboratory adjacent to the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building, and to support our programmatic funding to achieve transformational discoveries.

Named Spaces Adjacent to the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building

The overall design of the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building allows UCI to foster dynamic alliances that move discovery from inspiration to practice. There is the opportunity to name the new home for the Precision Omics Collaboratory, as well as custom-designed laboratories and gathering spaces. As a philanthropic partner, you will ensure our scientists have the space, resources and facilities needed to perform their life-changing work.

Endowed Research Grants

Research endowments provide continuous support for our investigators who are reshaping the future of science and healthcare because external grants cover only a portion of costs. Moreover, endowed funding is particularly important to underwrite the most innovative discoveries and novel strategies because it provides the flexibility to follow the science that leads to breakthroughs. All this important work will be done under the name of our philanthropic partner. Named endowed scholarships underwrite the training of future generations of lead investigators and care providers in perpetuity.

Endowed Chairs

When you join us as a philanthropic partner naming an endowed chair, you will forever link your legacy to UCI’s distinguished experts. Ultimately, advances in biomedical research will lead to innovative therapies. Philanthropic funds for endowed chairs, research and scholarships live in perpetuity. These funds create the ability to recruit and retain top-tier faculty who will be critical for UCI to remain a world-class center of excellence for emerging therapies. Endowed chairs are so powerful because they establish a perpetual annual support stream for the chairholder to focus their efforts on aspirational research.

Partner With Us

Please join us as we make our vision of the Precision Omics Collaboratory a reality. To learn more about exclusive naming opportunities for this transformative initiative, and for space associated with the medical innovation building, please contact:

Caroline Pereira, MBA
Associate Vice Chancellor of Health Advancement
caroline.pereira@uci.edu | 949-824-5577