Member Spotlight: Somak Roy

1. What is your name/professional title (and any degree(s)/trainings you did to achieve your position)?

   Somak Roy, MD, Associate Professor of Pathology and Director of Molecular Pathology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

   Trainings:

   • Medical School, Seth G.S. Medical College, Mumbai, India
   • Residency in Pathology, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India
   • Residency in Anatomic Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Board-certified)
   • Fellowship in Molecular Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Board-certified)
   • Fellowship in Genitourinary Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
   • Board-certified Clinical Informaticist

    

2. How would you describe your role in your current profession and what led you to this field? How does your work help patients?

   I am the medical director of Molecular and Genomic Pathology Services (MGPS) laboratory. My day-to-day work involves planning and oversight of the development and validation of new oncology and infectious diseases-related molecular diagnostics tests for pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients, review and interpretation of clinical oncology test results, managing clinical bioinformatics resources, management of modern clinical informatics infrastructure to support molecular diagnostics tests, oversight of laboratory finance and laboratory personnel management, and regulatory compliance. Academically, I enjoy learning, tinkering, and teaching bioinformatics, modern app development, cloud computing, and DevOps in clinical practice. I collaborate with our clinical team and pathology colleagues to brainstorm innovative molecular test designs and explore new technologies to improve patient care.

   My clinical and academic work is focused on enabling easy access to cost-effective and rapid turnaround molecular diagnostic tests to improve the care of children and young adults suffering from cancer and infectious diseases. I emphasize effective communication and consultation with the clinical teams to enable them to make informed diagnostic and treatment decisions.

   My first encounter with the DNA sequence of Drosophila in my uncle’s biochemical genetics book in 7th grade was a game changer. It led me down the rabbit hole of biochemistry, genetics, and biology for the remainder of high school. I was equally excited working with computers in parallel but did not realize the superpower of this combination until my molecular diagnostics and informatics rotations at UPMC. The realization that I could significantly impact patient care by combining the best of these two fields helped me choose molecular diagnostics and informatics as my professional path.

    

3. Who or what inspires you?

   My primary source of inspiration is the fact that I can make a positive impact on the lives of children and their families every day. What motivates me further is the fact that I can use genomics, medicine, and computing to achieve that impact.

    

4. What is the best part of your work? What are the greatest challenges you face in your work

   The best part of my work is that there is never a dull moment in molecular diagnostics. I love that my typical day includes interesting case reviews, interacting with my staff and colleagues, troubleshooting assays, and developing bioinformatics software. The most significant challenge when offering clinical molecular diagnostics in a setting of rare diseases, such as oncology in the pediatric population, is balancing turnaround time and cost efficiency due to the relatively lower sample volume in this population. This is further complicated by the dynamic regulatory landscape, which incurs additional financial overheads. At the end of the day, my lab strives to provide the best possible patient care for children despite the challenges.

    

5. How long have you been an AMP member and why did you join?

   I have been an AMP member since 2012 (12 years). I joined when I started my MGP fellowship to learn from the leaders in the field and connect with my peers from other institutions, especially in the field of informatics. I believe in learning by doing, and AMP was the perfect place for many opportunities to volunteer in working groups and national committees.

    

6. In your opinion, what are the most valuable aspects of AMP membership? What AMP resources/courses have helped you advance your career?

   AMP is my second home. The most valuable aspect of its membership is the experience of volunteering in different aspects of molecular diagnostics, and I learned significantly from that experience. AMP is one of the most welcoming places for trainees, as I experienced it in my early days of membership. Being an AMP member allows you to tap into a vast knowledgebase of experts in the field to ask a question without hesitation. I have built long-lasting professional relationships, friends, and colleagues during my 12 years in AMP that have been incredibly valuable when I had to set up my own molecular diagnostics laboratory at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. I owe a significant thanks to AMP for boosting my early career as a molecular professional.

    

7. In what ways have you previously been involved with AMP? If you currently volunteer with AMP, what committee, working group, etc. are you on and what do you enjoy most about being a part of it?

   I have been involved in AMP in various roles:

   1. Member of the informatics interest group (2013)
   2. Member of Informatics subdivision leadership - representative to the clinical practice committee (2014-2016)
   3. Member of Informatics subdivision leadership - representative to the program committee (2016-2018)
   4. Informatics subdivision Chair and member of the board of directors (2018-2020)
   5. Member of the Interpretation of Sequence Variants (ISV) in Somatic Conditions (Cancer) Work Group (2014-2016)
   6. Project Chair, NGS Informatics Pipeline Validation Guideline Workgroup (2015-2017)
   7. Member of Insilico validation working group (2018 – 2021)
   8. Member of VITAL somatic variant interpretation workgroup (2018 – 2021)
   9. Co-Chair of Clinical EHR Interoperability Working Group (2019 – present)
   10. Chair of Executive Committee, Body of Knowledge Working Groups (2020 – 2024)

    

8. What’s your advice to early career/trainee/new AMP members?

   I was fortunate to have trained with Dr. Jeffery Kant, who encouraged me to become an AMP member early on in training. This was one of my best professional decisions, and I would advise the same for trainees and early-career molecular professionals if not an AMP member yet. I gave AMP my 100% to AMP and received a 200% boost to my career. Get involved in AMP and dance to the “AMP song” at the “Amazing Molecular Party” at the Annual Meeting. It summarizes what AMP can do for you!