As we wrap up a successful academic semester at RIVERA-OMICS, we are thrilled to share the highlights and achievements from our concluding lab meeting. In an in-person session, led by Founding President and Principal Investigator, Dr. Osvaldo D. Rivera-González, the group marked significant milestones and set the stage for future advancements in academic research and educational endeavors. Read More…

The pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico is currently at a critical juncture, facing a myriad of factors that shape its present and future trajectory. Recently at the 2024 Puerto Rico Pharmaceuticals Summit, hosted by Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C., local industry leaders have discussed the complexities of various elements, including laws, environmental considerations, and infrastructure factors, all of which influence the importation and exportation of biopharmaceutical products. Key stakeholders have emphasized the importance of addressing current needs such as the demand for postdocs and a skilled workforce, while also advocating for government incentives of biotech companies to bolster capabilities within the industry. Read More…

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are currently disrupting the healthcare industry, with the potential to address significant gaps in health disparities. Therefore, to acknowledge the impact of AI/ML and to address its challenges, a Mini-Symposium of Artificial Intelligence Applied to the Health Disparities was hosted by Dr. Abiel Roche-Lima, Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator of the ARL Lab for Biomedical Data Science part of the Integrated Informatics Services (IIS) core and Center for Collaborative Research in Health Disparities (RCMI-CCRHD) of the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus. During the symposium, Jamboor K Vishwanatha, Principal Investigator at the AIM-AHEAD Coordinating Center, first delivered insights into the practical challenges and opportunities within this field. Then, Lavanya Vishwanatha, Director of Enterprise Research Solutions, informed us about preparing a diverse AI/ML workforce to achieve health equity. Later, Mariano de Socarraz, President of CorePlus Clinical and Pathological Services and President of Syndeo LLC, elaborated on how his company is leveraging AI to bolster operations. Finally, Dr. Kenneth W. Goodman, Director of IDSC data Ethics Society, presented standards for managing AI’s high stakes moral complexity. Overall, the presenters presented a holistic view to implementation and management of AI in healthcare practices. Read More…

The medical sciences community of the island was recently enriched by twelve seminars at the Puerto Rico’s Toxicology Conference led by distinguished faculty members and fellows of the Medical Toxicology Program at the Department of Emergency Medicine of Emory University, which shed light on the critical situation related to over-the-counter medications, home remedies, and opioids. Thanks to an invitation from the local ChEMTox Laboratory, the RIVERA-OMICS laboratory had the privilege of participating in the event, gaining new perspectives through the involvement of Sebastián Rosario-Torres and Veronica Defilló-Martinez in three of the twelve seminars imparted. These sessions provided valuable information, emphasizing the complex mechanisms of our body's response to medication ingestion, with a particular focus on the crucial importance of proper dosing, especially for common medications such as aspirin and acetaminophen. Read More…

10X Genomics has recently been noticeably active in Puerto Rico, hosting two distinct activities in the San Juan metropolitan area; a genomics workshop sponsored by the Molecular Sciences Research Center (MSRC) and a Single Cell Genomics Symposium at the Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Puerto Rico (CCC-UPR). The activities collectively highlighted the significance of comprehensive biological insights, stressing the need to understand the molecular biology of single cells to paint a more accurate picture of the natural complexity of tissues. Read More…