EP 153: How genomics is re-writing the taxonomy of disease with Lon Cardon, President and CEO of The Jackson Laboratory

This week, Patrick welcomes President and CEO of The Jackson Laboratory, Lon Cardon. They discuss the rise of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and how they changed the face of genetics research and why Lon took the plunge and moved from academia to industry in an era when it was an unpopular choice. Plus, they cover the future of disease taxonomy and why data sharing remains vital to the field of genetics.

0:00 Intro to The Genetics Podcast

01:00 Welcome to Lon

01:51 Lon’s involvement in the very first GWAS and what drew him to large-scale genomics research

03:32 Was moving away from candidate genes towards GWAS and data sharing initially a controversial idea?

05:25 What Lon believes has driven collaboration and data sharing within research communities

07:38 How and why Lon transitioned from academia to working for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

10:43 Why GSK was one of the largest initial investors in genetics and how the company came to have the largest genetics department in the world in the early 2000s

11:46 How the emergence of tens of thousands of biomarkers for genetic diseases has changed the way Lon thinks about the role of genetics in drug discovery

13:29 The future of genetics research and how much that path has diverged from expectations 20 years ago

18:14 The current challenge: From exquisitely precise genetics tools to clumsy phenotype predictions

19:45 Paradigm shifts in the taxonomy of disease

22:29 What it takes to reorganize the taxonomic definition and approach to diseases such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)

24:22 The changes needed within biotech and pharma to fully harness the possibilities of genetics in drug development

26:18 What drew Lon to the Jackson Lab, how it has evolved, and what he’s been focused on for the past three years

31:02 The Jackson Lab’s new precision medicine and cancer program, plus future plans for the institute’s legacy

35:56 What Lon has learned about running an international organization and global scientific collaboration

37:30 Lon’s advice to early career scientists on up-and-coming fields and technologies

41:40 Closing remarks