What’s Missing from Digital Pathology: Spatial Transcriptomics, Multi-omics, and More - Margaret Flanagan

Join Jake Brown on PathPulse: Pathology Innovators in Action as he welcomes Dr. Margaret Flanagan, a distinguished neuropathologist and the Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio's Distinguished Chair in Alzheimer and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Recognized on The Pathologist's 2024 Power List as an Idol of Innovation, Dr. Flanagan leads a multidisciplinary laboratory focused on understanding dementia mechanisms and developing early detection biomarkers. She's also a founding member of the National Digital Pathology Working Group and co-leads the Biggs Institute Brain Bank.

In this episode, Dr. Flanagan dives deep into the cutting-edge of pathology, exploring what's still missing from digital pathology to truly revolutionize diagnostics and personalized medicine.

You'll gain insight into:

• Digital Spatial Transcriptomics: Dr. Flanagan demystifies this powerful technology, explaining how it adds a crucial spatial dimension to genetic data, enabling researchers to pinpoint disease mechanisms with unprecedented granularity in areas like dementia and cancer. You'll learn how digital pathology is an integral step in its workflow.
• Integrating Multi-Omics Data: Discover the immense potential and current challenges of incorporating diverse molecular data into diagnostic workflows. Dr. Flanagan passionately discusses how personalized medicine for dementia, where co-existing brain pathologies are the norm, critically depends on these multi-omic insights.
• The "Perfect World" Scenario: Envision a future where highly accurate, validated biomarkers (like plasma tau and eye scans) combine with spatial omics to deliver tailored therapies to patients years before memory problems begin, addressing specific combinations of brain pathologies.
• Cost and Accessibility as Hurdles: Dr. Flanagan highlights the need for greater accessibility to expensive multi-omics platforms for researchers and clinicians. 

This conversation is essential for anyone interested in the bleeding edge of pathology, biomarker development, and the future of personalized medicine. Dr. Flanagan's expertise offers a compelling vision for how digital pathology, when combined with advanced molecular techniques, can unlock new possibilities in diagnosis and treatment.

Transcript: https://lumeadigital.com/whats-missing-from-digital-pathology-podcast/

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Sponsored by the Digital Diagnostic Summit and Lumea.