There I was sitting in front of my laptop, staring at my inbox… waiting for an update from our CPO / Co-founder at ASHG2025 in Boston.
Instead of a “here’s a wonderful marketing photo of me in front of the Logo with all the big players” message, I get an email from our VP Naomi. She had sent me a side shot.
Not of the crowd. Not of the booth. Not even of the product.
A perfectly timed half-profile of Compass Bioinformatics’ very own Eric mid-demo, looking like he’s pitching to save the world (and maybe he was)…
What is ASHG, and why does it matter?
ASHG (American Society of Human Genetics) hosts the annual gathering for the human genetics and genomics community
This year’s meeting (Oct 14–18 in Boston) was packed with themes like:
- Long-read sequencing and multi-omics integration
- AI in genomics and drug discovery
- Translational genetics bridging research to the clinic
- Diversity and authentic community engagement in genetic medicine
It brings together scientists, clinicians, technologists, industry folks, policy-shapers, and advocates to dig into the biology, the technology, and the societal implications of human genetics.
It’s not just another conference. It’s the place where tomorrow’s breakthroughs are previewed, debates are sparked, and networks are woven.
Why Compass Bioinformatics had to be there (and why you should care)
- Visibility & credibility: Demoing at ASHG puts you in front of the very people who can validate, adopt, or challenge your advances.
- Signal-watching: The featured symposia read like a map of where the field is heading — genome editing, bioinformatics, clinical genetics, epigenetics, population diversity, translational genomics, and more.
- Connections: The mix of academia, industry, policy, and clinical translation is rare. You’ll bump into people who are thinking about your problem space — or a problem adjacent to it.
- Learning & feedback loops: Real-time critique, spontaneous conversations, poster sessions — it’s one thing to build in a lab or in stealth; it’s another to hear the “wait, are you sure that works for X?” from someone whose shoes you hope your product will fill.
Who’s showing up (and who we were hoping to meet)
At ASHG, the names you see often read like a who’s who of human genetics: leading PIs, heads of computational genomics groups, thought leaders in epigenetics, big tech bioinformatics teams, national genome project leads, regulators thinking about policy & ELSI (Ethics, Legal, Social Implications), and startup founders (yes, that includes us).
As a startup in bioinformatics and AI solutions for genetic data, here are some of the featured sessions and topics we’re keeping an eye on:
- From Data to Diagnosis: Advancing Rare Disease Research through Collaborative Genomics
- Honestly, if you hadn’t told me, I’d have sworn this was Compass’s mission statement. But better yet, we hear from the best in the field on their strategies for gene discovery, improved variant interpretation, and using deep phenotyping with databases like OMIM to make diagnoses more accurate.
- Integration of Long-Read Sequencing with Multi-Omics Data to Identify Hidden Causal Variants
- Deep Learning for Non-coding Variant Interpretation
- Machine Learning-Derived Phenotype Refinement for Genomic Discovery and Prediction
- From MRI-based fibrosis phenotyping to multi-omic risk models and early Alzheimer’s detection, this topic resonates with us, as Compass shares the same vision through our ML-based phenotype-genotype algorithm for variant prioritization. ML and domain-specific AI is the trend in diagnostic advancement.
- Genomes from the Global South: Population Genomics Projects and their Impact on Precision Medicine in Global Populations
In the abstract program, topics span cancer genetics, complex traits, epigenetics, molecular diagnostics, omics technologies, pharmacogenomics, prenatal genetics, and more.
We were especially focused on the symposia and workshops around translational genomics, multi-omic integration, and variant interpretation, because that’s right in our lane.
At the end of the day…
As our Compass leaders connected dots at the annual meeting, met collaborators, and demonstrated how our platform fits into the evolving genomics landscape, we’re reminded that conferences like ASHG show us that genomics isn’t just about data — it’s about the people interpreting, challenging, and advancing that data. Compass Bioinformatics is proud to be part of that journey.
If you haven’t yet, reach out to see how we can make your variant interpretation easier and more efficient! No flashy theatrics though— probably just a personal demo from our very own CPO / Co-founder.
InheriNext by CompassBioinformatics
NGS partner for inherited disease discovery. InheriNext streamlines variant interpretation and accelerates insights in clinical and research settings.