Prepping Omics for the Clinic

The much-anticipated Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Evolution of Translational ’ Omics: Lessons Learned and the Path Forward , released on March 23, focuses on how scientists can accurately develop omics-based tests for clinical use. “We describe best practices for the discovery and confi rmation of a potential new test in a research lab, validation for the test in a clinical lab, and use of the test in clinical trials — and eventually in clinical practice — to assess its utility in guiding selection of patient therapies,” said Gilbert Omenn, M.D., Ph.D., professor of internal medicine, human genetics, and public health, and director of the Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, who chaired the IOM committee. The request for the report stemmed