Emory launches new program to improve health equity by accelerating disease diagnostic research

December 18, 2023 | Saporta Report

Striving to ensure advanced medical technologies are reaching the populations who need them most,  Emory’s Center for the Advancement of Diagnostics for a Just Society  (ADJUST) is launching this year as part of NIH’s RADx program.

The last several years have demonstrated that new technologies are steadily allowing for the diffusion of disease diagnosis and monitoring out of clinical environments and into communities, businesses, schools, and homes. These types of point-of-care technologies offer numerous benefits, but they also introduce a whole new set of issues – not only technological and clinical, but also logistical, regulatory, commercial, social, and ethical. Often times, the patients who need these new technologies the most have the least access.

Emory’s new center is the first-of-its-kind designed to address these issues. Utilizing a two-pronged approach to accelerate diagnostic development while ensuring health equity and justice, the ADJUST Center will serve as both a thinktank focusing on the advancement of future disease diagnosis through research and advocacy, as well as a technology foundry to accelerate diagnostic development.

“Given our vast experience, expertise, and ecosystem in diagnostics, we are well poised to be the only center in the nation dedicated to advancing the entire field of diagnostics forward in this modern era of medicine,” says Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD, pediatric hematologist and oncologist at  Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta,   and professor of pediatrics and biomedical engineering at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology. “As we help develop and translate new diagnostic technologies, our Center will also concurrently address the issues of accessibility, usability, and affordability to ensure these state-of-art tests will serve the populations who need them the most.”

The ADJUST Center is borne out of the NIH-funded point-of-care technologies center, the  ACME POCT, which is one of six sites in the U.S. selected by NIH as part of the NIH Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network. ACME POCT played a pivotal role during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as the national test verification center to rapidly evaluate COVID-19 tests and help make them widely available.

The ADJUST Center will seek to build off the expertise compiled during the COVID-19 pandemic and apply the lessons learned and proven tactics to ensure equitable access to advanced technology for everyone. Projects already underway include assessing the potential adverse outcomes of consumer health wearable technologies and examining the availability of point-of-care HPV diagnostics.   

Emory’s Senior Vice President for Research Deborah Bruner, PhD, says, “The ADJUST Center is an important new initiative that builds upon Emory’s strengths and impacts so many of our institutional goals. It is highly innovative, it is entrepreneurial, it is collaborative, and it is focused on health equity – it encompasses a wide variety of things that make us Emory.  I’m extremely excited to see what the center can achieve for our community and the world.”

Source: https://saportareport.com/emory-launches-new-program-to-improve-health-equity-by-accelerating-disease-diagnostic-research/thought-leadership/higher-education/emory-university/

Georgia’s Life Sciences Momentum is Getting Noticed Nationally.

August 21, 2026
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN) has named Georgia #4 among its “Next 5 States” for emerging U.S. biopharma clusters . The article highlights UCB’s planned $2 billion investment at in Gwinnett County, Micron Biomedical’s new Alpharetta facility, Manus Bio’s expansion in Augusta, Science Square, Emory University, the CDC — and Georgia Life Sciences’ 10-year Life Sciences Roadmap . This recognition is exciting. But even more importantly, it validates the work happening across our entire ecosystem — and perfect momentum as we head into the 2026 Georgia Life Sciences Summit next week. Read more by visiting: Next 10 U.S. Biopharma Clusters

BIO Supports PDUFA VIII Commitment Letter and Urges Timely Reauthorization

August 17, 2026
Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) Senior Vice President of Science & Regulatory Affairs Annetta Beauregard issued the following statement on the release of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) VIII commitment letter: “For more than 30 years, PDUFA has helped deliver hundreds of new medicines to American patients. As a lead industry negotiator for the PDUFA VIII agreement, BIO supports the PDUFA VIII commitment letter and its strengthening of regulatory review, advancing innovation, and helping deliver safe and effective treatments to patients. “Specifically, the PDUFA VIII agreement includes important commitments that bolster the FDA’s core review activities, ensure accountability for predictable performance, improve financial sustainability and improve communication, transparency and efficiency. “Timely, bipartisan reauthorization of PDUFA is vital for protecting the health of Americans, strengthening U.S. competitiveness, and maintaining America’s global leadership in medical innovation. BIO is committed to working with Congress to ensure reauthorization by September 30, 2027.” The FDA has announced plans to hold a hybrid public meeting at 9am on 9/16 to discuss the proposed enhancements for the reauthorization of PDUFA for fiscal years (FYs) 2028 through 2033. Learn More about PDUFA and the PDUFA VIII commitment letter HERE .

Georgia Life Sciences Submits Comments on Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program

August 17, 2026
Representing Georgia’s life sciences community, GLS emphasized the importance of advancing policies that improve affordability and patient access while preserving the environment necessary for continued biomedical innovation. In its comments, GLS urged CMS to maintain a framework grounded in FDA regulatory determinations and raised concerns about how certain proposed policies could affect post-approval research and development, investment in new indications, and patient access to innovative therapies. GLS also encouraged CMS to consider the broader implications for healthcare delivery, including the potential impact on patients and providers in rural and underserved communities. As federal drug pricing policy continues to evolve, Georgia Life Sciences will continue to advocate for approaches that balance affordability, access, and innovation while ensuring Georgia’s life sciences community has a voice in the policymaking process. Read Georgia Life Sciences’ full comments to CMS ( click here ).
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