Monrovia, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/19/2011 -- Arnold Gelb, Senior Biomarker Pathologist at Quest Diagnostics Clinical Trials, will give a presentation on “Applications of Biomarkers in Molecular Pathology to Therapeutic Development.” Molecular pathology is a newly established, “cross-over” discipline focused on the study of disease through examination of molecules in tissues and body fluids. This discipline includes the development, design, and validation of biomarker assays that may be useful for rendering a diagnosis, establishing patient prognosis, and monitoring treatment response and disease progression. By helping to diagnose and stratify disease and identify patients likely to respond to specific therapies, biomarkers can facilitate the use of molecularly-targeted therapeutics and thus expand the field of personalized medicine. Several case studies will be presented that illustrate the application of new and emerging biomarker assays in different clinical trial phases and show how a central laboratory can work with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop biomarker assays that support the development of targeted therapies. Proposed solutions to obstacles in the field, such as lack of assay standardization, will also be discussed.

Arnold Gelb is the Senior Biomarker Pathologist at Quest Diagnostics Clinical Trials, where his work focuses on the development and application of biomarkers to clinical trials. He was previously Director of Pathology at Pathway Diagnostics where he also developed novel tissue biomarker assays. Before that he served in various experimental and/or clinical pathology roles at Novartis/Chiron, Deltagen, DNAX (now part of Merck Research Laboratories) and UCSF. He has authored over 40 scientific publications and a book chapter in a molecular medicine text. He received his M.D. from Stanford University and M.S. from Northwestern University.

Come and join the discussion at GTCbio`s Molecular Diagnostics Conference to be held in Philadelphia, PA on March 7-8, 2011. Network with colleagues in academia, industry, and healthcare to share and learn about the latest technologies and novel discoveries in the diagnostics field. Gain insight into the issues and challenges facing the healthcare industry and hear success stories from industry leaders.

Presenting organizations include Merck, Genentech, Illumina, Quest Diagnostics, On-Q-Ity, OncoVista, Caprion Proteomics and other leaders in the diagnostics industry. For more information, visit www.gtcbio.com