Learn more about Elena through the following quick questions:
Good morning Elena. What do you do at GenomSys, and what are you currently working on?
Hello, I am the Finance Manager, and I oversee a well-organized administration, ready to be scaled up when GenomSys expands internationally.
What is your take on personalized medicine and what role does GenomSys play in that?
Traditional western medicine has found many solutions for our health but often fails as it takes into account only few variables; many patients end up not taking drugs because they don’t feel the benefits or they suffer side effects. Some targeting approach is already taking place, e.g., with gender-specific medicine in heart or cancer treatments. Now, including genomic aspects and thus the individuality of each one of us on a molecular basis will significantly increase the effectiveness of the cures.
GenomSys wants to play its part in using genomic data for improved and actual personalized medicine. I see that the solutions cover the whole picture to make the life of the experts easier, as well as to make their work economically more efficient and finally give the individual a simple but very secure way to use their DNA in the first place.
What is the most significant benefit of GenomSys’ ISO-certified standard for genomic data (MPEG-G), in your opinion?
It uses the smartest solution, fully standardized and therefore transparent, internationally recognized and readable everywhere.
Genomic data and data privacy challenges. What is, in your opinion, a way to solve this issue?
I think privacy is very important and should be protected much more than it has been in the past. In my opinion, we have made some progress in Europe, even though the regulatory and legal improvements are slowly coming, and we are still a long way to complete cybersecurity. I hope that legislators and the judiciary will accelerate their efforts to protect privacy even more in the future by increasing the possibility of compensation in the event of damage. However, as a woman who has always worked, I would see the possibility of facilitating access to the data of children and the elderly by family members who have care responsibilities when applicable.
Furthermore, as someone who has worked in the insurance industry, I think that insurance companies should be able to charge different premiums for different risk segments of the insured clientele without violating privacy; I mean that just as for car insurance it is possible to set lower premiums for lower risk insureds – e.g., drivers who have been using cars for years and who use uncrowded territories – so for health insurance it should be possible for healthier individuals to inform insurance companies and obtain lower premiums – the information to be provided on a voluntary basis could be both behavioral (no smoking and other parameters of healthy living) and genetic.
Especially when talking about genetics, our GenomYou app is prone to support the healthcare system fundamentally. It provides the individual with a tool – our smartphone – to keep their DNA information close to themselves and a platform for them and all stakeholders in healthcare, such as physicians, laboratories or, in the future, health insurance companies. Delivering on the promise of a high level of protection for intimate medical data through self-ownership by leveraging the built-in security elements of the MPEG-G standard.
Why did you join GenomSys?
I joined because it provides smart solutions and it has a smart team! I also hope to contribute with my experience in start-up companies to create a lean and easily scalable organization.
When you’re not handling the finances at GenomSys, what do you do in your free time?
I go tango dancing, biking and skiing. I also enjoy listening to music a lot!
And do like practicing yoga. Every time I do it I feel like it heals me and truly reconnects my body and spirit/soul.
Do you listen to podcasts? What are you currently listening to?
Not really, I prefer listening to music and dancing My favorite genres are classic music, opera, jazz and tango; I really like the great classic baroque musicians, I love Mozart, Verdi and Puccini. If no music is playing I enjoy some non-verbal peacefulness, breathing .
Or do you still prefer reading? What were the top 3 books that you think anybody should’ve read at least once?
Reading is my entertainment after dinner at home. I’m part of a book club, and I very much enjoy the great classic books; Bulgakov’s ‘il maestro e Margherita’, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s ’l’amore al tempo del colera’ and a great Thriller ‘I promessi sposi’ -are in my favorites, together with yoga books.
Do you have a favorite chromosome and why is this your favorite one?
Yes, the heterochromosome or sex chromosome as it determines our gender and major differences in approach to health, e.g., for some cancer treatments- and life. 😉
If you have any further questions for Elena or about GenomSys, please feel free to contact us.
