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NextGen Precision Health’s PATHWAYS symposium successfully debuted March 22, with nearly 200 researchers from across the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ attending.

Held at the State Historical Society of Missouri in Columbia, the inaugural event centered on developing new scientific partnerships within the system and with private industry to target solutions for major health challenges in Missouri and beyond.

At PATHWAYS, research faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students from several disciplines discussed collaborations to lower research barriers and jump-start new projects.

Among other attendees, Mizzou, UMKC, Missouri S&T and UMSL were represented at PATHWAYS by 100 poster presenters and 10 faculty speakers: 

• Brett Froeliger, Ph.D., ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ-Columbia professor of psychiatry and director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Systems (CNS) advanced technology core facility
• John Grinstead, Ph.D., Siemens Healthineers medical physicist based at the NextGen Precision Health building
• Michael Nichols, Ph.D., ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ-St. Louis professor of chemistry & biochemistry and Director of the UMSL Biochemistry & Biotechnology Program
• Robert Paul, Ph.D., ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ-St. Louis professor of psychological sciences and Executive Director of the Missouri Institute of Mental Health
• Smita Saxena, Ph.D., ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ-Columbia professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, and NextGen principal investigator
• Julie Semon, Ph.D., Missouri University of Science and Technology associate professor of biological sciences
• Xing Song, Ph.D., ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ-Columbia assistant professor of biomedical informatics, biostatistics and medical epidemiology
• John Spertus, M.D., ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ-Kansas City professor of metabolic and vascular disease research and Director for the Departments of Biomedical and Health Informatics and Internal Medicine
• Maria Spletter, Ph.D., ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ-Kansas City assistant professor of biological and biomedical systems

Next year, PATHWAYS will be held at the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ-Kansas City.

Highlighting the promise of personalized health care and the impact of large-scale interdisciplinary collaboration, the UM System’s NextGen Precision Health initiative is bringing together innovators from across the system’s four research universities, MU Health Care, MU Extension and industry partners in pursuit of life-changing precision health advancements. It’s a dynamic effort to leverage the strengths of the entire UM System toward a better future for Missouri’s health. The initiative is anchored at the , a state-of-the-art research facility expanding collaborations between researchers, clinicians and industry leaders.