Southern Utah Breakthroughs in Precision Health

St. George is the headquarters for Intermountain Healthcare researchers who study individual genetic characteristics to personalize treatment based on a patient’s DNA.

By David De Rurange, Intermountain Healthcare

When Tabitha Pattison isn’t at Bryce Canyon National Park, she can sometimes be found sequencing genetic data in a machine nicknamed “Bryce Canyon.”

“What better names for these powerhouse machines than after some of the most impressive natural wonders here in Utah?” said Pattison, an associate scientist for research and development at Intermountain Healthcare. “Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell, Goblin Valley, Zion, and Arches allow us to sequence patients’ DNA quickly and accurately.” Pattison is one of more than 200 employees at Intermountain Healthcare’s precision genomics department. Organized in 2014, Intermountain Precision Genomics (IPG) is headquartered inside the Cancer Center on St. George Regional Hospital’s campus. It is shifting healthcare worldwide to predict and prevent disease rather than treating patients after symptoms are felt.

“We love telling the world we’re changing the future of healthcare from St. George, Utah,” commented Gary Stone, associate vice president of precision health and academics and resident of southern Utah for twenty years. “We’ve been fortunate to put teams of scientific researchers like Tabitha and medical doctors together to help patients with precision cancer care, genetic counseling, pharmacogenomics, and hereditary disease testing.” Stone said these services and caregivers use the latest information to personalize care for cancer patients (often leading to improved survival and higher quality of life), guide patients through family health history and genetic information to see if they have inherited risk for certain health conditions, study how genes can affect a patient’s response to medication, and perform research with stateof-the-art technologies to unlock the secrets that transform healthcare.

Lincoln Nadauld, M.D., Ph.D., is one of the founders of IPG. He is also a medical oncologist. When Dr. Nadauld isn’t implementing genetic research to patient care, he enjoys family sports and hikes near his home in Santa Clara, Utah.

“My family talks about genetics at the dinner table,” Dr. Nadauld said. “There are discoveries in precision medicine happening almost every day and now we have the privilege of using this expanding knowledge and practice immediately for our patients.” Nadauld regularly speaks at Harvard Medical School in the Precision Medicine Conference, where the world’s leading clinicians, industry executives, investors, patient advocates, payers, policy experts, and researchers convene for the latest discussions on precision health. In 2020, he brought Scientific American and AstraZeneca to St. George as they recognized his precision medicine work for the Cancer Community Awards. And this year, KUTV’s Mary Nickles toured IPG with Dr. Nadauld as she interviewed him as a recipient of the Pioneers of Progress award in science and technology. “It’s an honor to bring the precision medicine spotlight here where our community and business partners have been and are supportive. They inspire our research and breakthroughs,” Dr. Nadauld said.

Tabitha Pattison

Lincoln Nadauld

Gary Stone

Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell,

Goblin Valley, Zion, and Arches

allow us to sequence patients’

DNA quickly and accurately. Fast Company recognized Intermountain Healthcare as the eighth most innovative biotechnological company in the world, thanks to IPG’s HerediGene: Population Study. It was a first for a healthcare organization to receive such a ranking and recognition. HerediGene is IPG’s massive genetic research study that may change the future of healthcare. To learn more about it, go to HerediGene.org/ ProtectOurHealth.

Intermountain Healthcare’s president and CEO, Dr. Marc Harrison, identified IPG’s HerediGene efforts as one of the five models for value-based healthcare in a Harvard Business Review article.

“The work that’s being done in St. George is incredibly important because it allows us to understand whether someone carries a genetic burden that predisposes them to something that we can do something about,” Harrison said. “Our investments in St. George and in this program are well-justified. They’re at the cutting edge, allowing Intermountain to remain competitive with the rest of the world providing high-value care.”

The Results of Precision Health

Intermountain Precision Genomics has several advanced services that translate research into innovative care. Through genomic testing, healthcare providers can get right down to your DNA to find the path of care that may work best for you, helping to reduce costs while providing a better experience overall. You can learn more about these services at precisiongenomics. org or by visiting any Intermountain Healthcare hospital or clinic in St. George, Santa Clara, and Hurricane, Utah.

Dave De Rurange likes people and their stories. He supports Intermountain Precision Genomics in marketing and public relations, spreading its healthy stories locally and abroad. Before the last five years in health care, Dave was an awardwinning television journalist covering a decade’s worth of stories in Oregon and Ohio. Now he and his wife live in St. George, Utah, enjoying southern Utah’s splendor with their four sons.