In a joint session of the ACR and the Japan College of Rheumatology, experts including Keishi Fujio, MD, PhD, discussed recent advances in omic technology that pave the way for novel approaches to the translation of basic science discoveries into clinical rheumatology.

Panelist Madeleine Cunningham, PhD, highlighted the connection between streptococcal infection, autoimmunity, and molecular mimicry. She reviewed how antigenic determinants are shared between the host and invading organism.

Onyinye Iweala, MD, PhD, outlined bulk transcriptomics profiling and methods focused on characterizing individual cells. She explained that handling vast quantities of multidimensional data requires specialized statistical and data visualization.