Standard-of-care (SOC) genomic testing in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has historically resulted in fragmented, incomplete genomic profiles that mask clinically significant biology. This webinar explores how the field of hematological research is pivoting toward a unified whole genome sequencing (WGS) approach, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the complex genomics and biological drivers that define AML.

Dr. Chris Hourigan of Virginia Tech, a renowned expert in hematology research, will present the latest findings from the MEASURE-ATLAS study, a prospective multicenter initiative that redefines testing approaches for AML. Using data from 255 patients across 18 U.S. Cancer Centers, Dr. Hourigan will demonstrate how WGS not only recapitulated SOC testing, but provided a superior resolution of myeloid malignancies, identifying critically missed events in 10% of cases.

Severine Catreux, Ph.D., Sr. Director of Bioinformatics at Illumina, will detail the informatics innovations that made MEASURE-ATLAS possible. Dr. Catreux will introduce Illumina’s end-to-end hematological WGS research solution, integrating Illumina instruments and heme WGS assay design with DRAGEN™ high-precision variant calling and Connected Insights for variant interpretation. Together, this optimized solution transforms the complexity of hematological research into meaningful insights, unifying the detection of somatic variants, fusions, and copy number changes under a single workflow.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Learn the mechanistic and clinical significance of WGS-derived findings from the MEASURE–ATLAS study, including pathogenic variants systematically missed by SOC testing.
• Understand how whole genome interrogation uncovers new biological insights, including inherited predispositions and underrecognized structural variants with prognostic or therapeutic implications.
• Evaluate the technical and computational requirements for deploying a fully integrated WGS-based hematologic malignancy research workflow.
• Explore how Illumina’s unified ecosystem enables laboratories to generate high-resolution, end-to-end genomic profiles that materially elevate confidence and research output.

The landscape for precision oncology has witnessed a remarkable trajectory in recent decades with the adoption of next-generation sequencing tests like comprehensive genomic profiling and whole-exome/genome sequencing driving research into the genomic drivers of cancer. While this wealth of genomic information holds the power to change the landscape of outcomes, the exponential amount of data generated poses a critical challenge: implementing accurate and time-efficient variant interpretation.

This webinar will highlight how one oncology thought leader, Hospital Son Espases, has implemented a combination of Illumina assays and informatics to enable the next wave of precision oncology. Antonia Obrador, oncology area coordinator at Son Espases, will describe how her lab has adopted Illumina’s CGP assay and variant interpretation software to derive critical oncology insights for the 1.2 million people in the hospital’s service area.

Jing Gao, vice president and global head of clinical informatics, will then conclude the session with an overview of Illumina’s oncology portfolio, sharing how the latest advancements in informatics are driving the identification and characterization of causal cancer variants at an unprecedented pace.