For this Faculty Feature, we spoke with Drew Hughes, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Pathology & Immunology in Genomic & Molecular Pathology.
Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up, and when did you first become interested in science and medicine?
I was born in Kansas City, MO, but I grew up on the East Coast. Before I turned one, my family moved to New Hampshire (my dad got a job in Boston as an aviation journalist), and we moved to Northern Virginia as I was finishing elementary school (he got a promotion). I come from a family of humanities majors, so I got a later start in the life sciences. I entered college as a double major in English and mathematics, but I took an outstanding molecular biology class as a sophomore and was hooked. I learned that the genome is essentially software, but it’s incredibly poorly documented (what does this part even do?), and we mostly learn how it works when it breaks. I finished college just as technologies capable of studying the genome at scale were becoming widely available (the first cancer genome was sequenced at WashU in 2008), and the potential impact on medicine was (and continues to be) profound. Pursuing a career combining genomics and medicine—translating discoveries into clinical practice and bringing genomic technologies to patient care—struck me as an opportunity to do something interesting while doing something useful.
What is your career path?
I came to WashU for my MD/PhD, and I haven’t managed to escape I’ve stayed ever since. That means that my physical career path starts in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center, crosses the street to the Institute of Health, and then goes through the link to the West Building (it’s about a four-minute walk). More broadly, as a graduate student, I was able to work with investigators in cancer genomics before joining Joe Corbo’s lab to study how cell-type-specific gene regulation is encoded in DNA sequence. Throughout my graduate training, I focused on learning as much as possible about creative applications of high-throughput sequencing to understand genome function, including the bioinformatic tools required to work with sequencing data and the statistical methods needed to make sense of it. Seeing how powerful these approaches were in the research setting and wanting to help make them more accessible to patients and clinicians led naturally to a residency in Clinical Pathology followed by a fellowship in Genomic and Molecular Pathology. I’m now an assistant professor in the Section of Molecular Oncology within the new(ish) Division of Genomic and Molecular Pathology. My clinical responsibilities are concentrated on signing out our in-house MyeloSeq, ChromoSeq, and GatewaySeq assays while helping to oversee the maintenance of those tests and evaluating new applications and new assays (in an office at the opposite end of the hallway from the lab where I completed my PhD).
What are your favorite parts of your current role?
Genomics benefits from a powerful feed-forward loop. The more patients we sequence, the more we understand about the molecular basis of disease, and the more useful (and actionable) that genomic data becomes. It’s incredibly satisfying to offer clinical testing that directly impacts patient care and that is constantly improving as the underlying technology and our understanding of the data advances.
What is a memorable moment you’ve had while working in the department?
As a fellow, I had the opportunity to help with the clinical validation of our whole-genome sequencing assay for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia (ChromoSeq) as well as the submission to MolDX, the Medicare Administrative Contractor that establishes coverage and reimbursement for molecular tests in our region. On our first group call after ChromoSeq was approved (after an extensive review process), Dr. Duncavage noted, “I think this is the first whole-genome sequencing test for cancer patients approved Medicare.” Dr. Schroeder followed up, “Actually…I think this is the first whole-genome sequencing test approved by Medicare—for any indication.”
What special skills or talents do you have that people may not know about?
I tended bar in Washington, DC for a year between college and medical school. I wish that meant I was a skilled mixologist, but it mostly means I can pour an OK draft beer. It also means I have a visceral reaction to “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey.
What are some of your favorite hobbies or activities?
My wife and I have an almost three-year-old and an infant at home, who organize (“organize”) most of our time outside of work. Our favorite activities include spending time in Forest Park, real (or pretend) trips to the grocery store and “wash car,” and trying to eat things that we see. I also enjoy cooking, strength training, and running in Forest Park. My attempts to exercise seem to be increasingly limited by injury (which is weird, because I usually associate that with middle age).
What is your advice to aspiring people in your field?
Genomics is a large and rapidly advancing field, and trying to keep up can feel overwhelming. My best advice is to learn to become comfortable being uncomfortable while constantly trying to learn as much as you can. Like most of the really important things in life, learning about genomics is an endeavor where steady incremental gains compound over time to yield enormous returns. It’s important to have some sort of anchor if you’re engaged in a process like that—a source of implicit or explicit feedback that tells you if you’re moving in the right direction even when you feel like you’re struggling. To that end, I’ve consistently found the most effective strategy is seeking out smart and talented people and spending as much time with them as possible. WashU has a deep bench.
