Oxford Nanopore at ACMG 2026
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Oxford Nanopore will be at the ACMG Annual Meeting in March, 2026, hosted in Baltimore. Meet the team at booth 2310 will also host an Industry Supported Satellite Symposium on Tuesday, March 10. See additional details below.
Industry Supported Satellite Symposium
Unrestricted Disease Insights with Comprehensive Long-read Sequencing
Date: Tuesday, March 10
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM EST
Location: Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor, Holiday rooms 1-3
Although exome and short-read whole genome sequencing are widely used clinically, diagnostic yield remains incomplete. This is well-recognised in rare disease but equally relevant to complex conditions. Learn how simultaneous detection of clinically signifi cant variants— complex structural variants, repeat expansions, copy number variants, methylation changes—can substantially improve diagnostic yield.
Learning Objectives:
Unaltered DNA sequencing strategy: including comprehensive variant calling and methylation in unresolved rare disease samples
Ultra-rapid whole genome sequencing, from sample to prioritized variants in 24h
Profile genome-wide methylation and variants in complex disease
Agenda
4:00-5:30 PM ET | Talk title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
4:00 - 4:15 PM | Welcome and introductions | Cora Vacher, Oxford Nanopore Technologies |
4:15 - 4:40 PM | Nanopore sequencing for clinical genetics: From critical care to complex genomic signatures | Tjakko van Ham, Erasmus University Rotterdam |
4:40 -5:05 PM | Native methylation sequencing for detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, and other neurodegenerative conditions | Chad Pollard, Wasatch Biolabs |
5:05 - 5:30 PM | Diagnosing the undiagnosed with long read genome data | Wendy Chung, Boston Children's Hospital |
Speakers
Cora Vacher
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- Job title
- Associate Director, Segment Marketing
- Institution
- Oxford Nanopore Technologies
- Biography
Cora Vacher is the Market Segment Associate Director for Human Genetic at Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Cora is passionate about genomics, in particular how genomics can help decipher and alleviate the burden of neurological diseases from neurodevelopmental to late onset neurodegenerative disorders. She came to the UK for a postdoctoral position on the genetic of Huntington’s disease in Cambridge and subsequently moved to commercial organisations.
Tjakko van Ham
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- Job title
- Head of Diagnostic Laboratory & Associate Professor
- Institution
- Erasmus MC
- Biography
Dr. Tjakko van Ham obtained his PhD in genetics (C. elegans functional genomics) at the University Medical Center Groningen (the Netherlands) in 2009. After postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, USA) in genetic brain disorders using zebrafish as a model, he became a group leader at the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam (the Netherlands) in 2014. Currently, he is heading the diagnostic laboratory at the department fo Clinical Genetics and an associate professor focusing on implementation of new diagnostic approaches for genetic disorders. A main interest is RNA-sequencing in undiagnosed genetic disease, which proved highly effective and complementary to genome analysis to assist in diagnosing diverse genetic disorders.
Chad Pollard
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- Job title
- CEO
- Institution
- Wasatch Biolabs
- Biography
Dr. Chad Pollard received his PhD in Cell Biology and Physiology from Brigham Young University where he focused on developing methylation based cfDNA liquid biopsy tests for neurodegenerative conditions. Chad is now the CEO of Renew Biotechnologies, LLC which focuses on the development and commercialization of DNA and RNA based clinical diagnostics and research tools. Renew holds a number of subsidiaries under its company, the largest of which is its CAP/CLIA reference lab Wasatch BioLabs.
Wendy Chung
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- Job title
- Clinical and Molecular Geneticist
- Institution
- Boston Children's Hospital
- Biography
Dr. Chung is a clinical and molecular geneticist. She directs NIH-funded research in human genetics of autism, pulmonary hypertension, breast cancer, obesity, diabetes, and birth defects—including congenital diaphragmatic hernia and congenital heart disease. Dr. Chung has identified the genetic basis of more than 60 rare diseases.
