This month, Disruptive Women welcomes Patrick F. Terry, a self-proclaimed “JAD” (Just A Dad), as our Man of the Month.

Q: So, where should we start? You have been involved with founding a number of ground breaking biotechnology companies, life science research foundations, trade associations, philanthropic groups, and a whole host of public policy organizations.

A: I enjoy thinking ahead and trying to do the next new thing to advance science, biomedical research, and the business of patient-centered health care. I’m very impatient for change. I consider myself an unrepentant insurgent, renegade, and rabble rouser. I think that is the most powerful disruptive technology there is. That’s why I love the Disruptive Women in Health Care Blog.

But honestly, everything I do is in a lame attempt to keep up with my wife, Sharon F. Terry. She is one of the Disruptive Women Authors and a force of nature like the others here.

I have been burdened with the ability to visualize the dynamics of highly complex systems (like the health care enterprise) and make sense out of navigating or reorganizing aspects of the system to create new efficiencies. U.S. health care is the most inefficient and expensive system ever conceived of and implemented in the history of the planet. It is a wonderfully disturbing playground for a person like me. So, as a coping mechanism I have to create new organizations and social systems to help drive change and innovation.

I have been lucky to be associated with some really brilliant and creative people. For example, the great group who I worked with to start Genomic Health [NASDAQ: GHDX] and apply innovative clinical genomics to successfully change the standard of care for breast cancer in record time. I learned a ton from all the talented people there and from that commercial experience. It made me audacious about what was possible in the new era of optimized precision medicine, personalized medicine, technological innovation, and new approaches to health care delivery.

Q: So, why are you doing all these different things?

A: My kids made me do it! No, really they are the reason I do what I do today. A little over a decade ago, my two children were both diagnosed with a rare genetic disease a few days before Christmas. My wife and I were blown away. The diagnosis was traumatic. In hind sight, it was a seminal, life altering event. It had a profound effect on me as a man, a father, and a husband. At the time, I considered myself a failure at each. What could I do for my kids now? As a young Dad, I completely bought into the archetypal role of supporting, protecting and providing for my family. It was all I thought about. It gave me a clear purpose in life. So, after a few weeks of trying to cope with the emotional rollercoaster of my kid’s diagnosis, I decided to try to find a treatment intervention for their disease. That was the day I decided to do the improbable, potentially the impossible – tame a genetic disease. Take on the system as Just A Dad.

Q: What did you do next?
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Well – sadly it’s been one year since I have posted a blog with Disruptive Women in Healthcare so I really need to update you all on the fascinating science occurring in the genomics community.

Shortly after I wrote my last blog in October 2008, I attended a meeting at one of our country’s finest scientific institutions– Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories – where some of the world’s foremost scientific discoveries have occurred. At this inaugural meeting entitled “Personal Genomes”, scientists discussed the tremendous potential for understanding the genome and translating this knowledge into our quest for the personalization of healthcare – yet at this meeting one year ago, we were acknowledging that we had sequenced less than a handful of genomes, the task at hand enormous and not for the faint of heart. Yet these initial genome sequences revealed the extensive diversity and challenges in linking common disease phenotypes to individual genetic variation.

I returned to Cold Spring Harbor for the second “Personal Genomes” meeting two weeks ago and I must say, I have begun to see our path forward. Well over 50 genomes have now been sequenced, the quest for the $1000 Genome is at hand and we are beginning to feel the momentum building with a strong emphasis on the field of cancer. Indeed just last week, President Obama and Dr. Francis Collins, the newly appointed NIH Director, announced some $5 billion in NIH awards to be spent during the next two years through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act all aimed at advancing scientific discoveries. Including in this funding is $175M to extend the Cancer Genome Atlas project. The intent is to sequence the DNA from thousands of tumor samples, obtained from 20-25 tumor types, to help us understand the genetic variation within these tumors that have resulted in their unchecked growth within the human body. The quest being the fundamental understanding of what goes wrong in the tumor tissue and thus offering new hope for better therapies and the ability to match an individual’s genetic signature to the best treatment. I remain optimistic that in my children’s lifetime, cancer will be a chronic, treatable disease.

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Join three Disruptive Women on Wednesday, September 23rd, from 12-1 pm for a free webinar on open dialogues in health.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET
Fostering Open Dialogues in Health: Disruptive Women in Health Care
Hot Topics in Genetics and Advocacy
Register for this event here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/764236011.

Fostering open dialogues on hot topics in health presents unique challenges. Today, innovators are exploring the use of technology to generate multiple perspectives in these dialogues. The Disruptive Women in Health Care blog is an example of the rich and open dialogues happening online now. Hear about the model Disruptive Women in Health Care employed and their principles for fostering openness. Presenters will also outline health reform as an example of how this open dialogue is taking place and fostering interaction. Specifically, they will discuss ways care will be delivered from an integrated team-based approach, and how patients and caregivers will be active participants or advocates in the new health system created after health reform.

Presenters:

• Robin Strongin – President & CEO, Amplify Public Affairs, LLC; Creator & Founder, Disruptive Women in Health Care blog
• Ruthann Russo – Partner, Russo & Russo, LLP
• Pat Ford Roegner – CEO, American Academy of Nursing