Project Summary:
The Mellowes Center Symposium brings together clinicians, scientists, and patient voices to advance the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of rare diseases. In 2025, speakers will focus on mitochondrial disorders, diagnostic discovery, epigenomics, and functional modeling of disease variants. This event links groundbreaking science with clinical practice to significantly advance healthcare outcomes in Wisconsin and beyond. Our goal is to translate cutting-edge discoveries into better healthcare outcomes by addressing barriers to early diagnosis and limited understanding of emerging therapies. By engaging leaders in mitochondrial medicine, long-read sequencing, epigenomics, and disease modeling, our symposium builds a community that advances precision medicine and strengthens Wisconsin’s capacity for rare disease care.
Clinicians, researchers, and medical trainees will be exposed to rapidly evolving technologies at the symposium, providing an accessible forum to link innovative science with clinical practice and prepare the future health workforce.
Learning Objectives:
- Assess advances in mitochondrial medicine, diagnostic discovery, and epigenomics
- Expose researchers and healthcare professionals to emerging technologies and functional modeling to enhance diagnosis and treatment
- Analyze the role of patient perspectives in directing research focus and guiding clinical care
- Advance integration of research genomics into precision medicine practice
The symposium features keynote speakers, expert presentations, posters, and a patient session, offering exposure to innovative ideas and technologies while guiding their application to improve care and collaboration. By uniting research leaders and healthcare professionals, we will empower the current and future healthcare workforce with the knowledge and skills needed to address challenges in rare disease diagnosis and treatment. The program is designed to unite experts across rare disease fields to showcase emerging scientific discoveries and their translation into improved patient care. By featuring speakers in Mitochondrial Diseases, Diseases of the Epigenome, the Diagnostic Odyssey, and Functional Modeling of Disease Variants, the symposium brings together a broad cross-section of basic, translational, and clinical research. This structure is intended to engage the regional health workforce while fostering national and international collaborations that strengthen evidence for gene–disease associations and expand therapeutic opportunities.
The two-day symposium will feature two keynote speakers, 15 expert presentations (with half of the speakers based in Wisconsin), and a poster session to highlight the work of emerging investigators. By convening a diverse audience, the symposium establishes a strong platform for education, collaboration, and professional development in rare disease research and patient care. This inclusive, multidisciplinary approach supports innovation, strengthens the healthcare workforce, and advances progress in both rare disease and rare cancer research.