The Jackson Laboratory’s Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative (MCGI), Bayhealth, and N-Power Medicine expand access to precision oncology in community care through virtual molecular tumor boards

Community cancer centers and oncologists face challenges in keeping up with the rapid advancements in molecular testing and targeted therapies essential for precision oncology, which relies on a patient’s molecular profile. With medical knowledge rapidly evolving, collaboration and shared expertise are critical to staying current with the latest clinical evidence and best practices amid busy clinical schedules.

To help address this need, The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), through its Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative (MCGI), is working with Bayhealth and N-Power Medicine to bring an integrated molecular tumor board program to the Bayhealth Cancer Institute, adding further expertise in genomic interpretation and actionability to Bayhealth’s oncology team.

This approach brings together JAX’s MCGI’s expert-led Genomic Tumor Board with N-Power’s prospective, point-of-care data platform, which generates trial-grade data from routine care. These capabilities support more informed treatment decisions while expanding access to clinical trials and other research opportunities, such as novel prospective external control arms, for Bayhealth patients. Originally launched to ensure that cancer patients in rural Maine could benefit from advances in cancer genomics, MCGI is now expanding its model beyond the state, connecting community oncologists with multi-disciplinary experts who interpret complex genomic data to guide treatment decisions.

Through this collaboration Bayhealth clinicians will participate in MCGI’s virtual molecular tumor boards, where specialists review tumor sequencing results alongside each patient’s clinical history.  These discussions help oncologists translate genomic findings into personalized treatment strategies and identify opportunities for targeted therapies and clinical research participation.

“We are thrilled to bring the deep expertise of JAX’s Maine Cancer Genomic Initiative together with our center’s clinical leadership and commitment to delivering high-quality, community-based oncology care,” said medical director of Bayhealth Cancer Institute Rishi Sawhney, M.D. “This collaboration gives our clinicians the support they need to strengthen our precision oncology program.”

“We’re helping clinicians feel confident turning complex genomic information into meaningful treatment decisions for their patients,” said Jens Rueter, M.D., chief medical officer at JAX and medical director of MCGI.

Since its launch in 2016, MCGI has run more than 500 genomic tumor boards in Maine. convening multidisciplinary experts to review individual patient cases. The program’s long-term goal is to scale and extend access to high-quality genomic expertise to underserved communities nationwide.

 “This collaboration reflects how the model JAX developed through the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative can support community oncologists wherever patients receive care," says Lindsey Kelley, associate director of MCGI, who leads the tumor board program. "Starting with Bayhealth, we hope to expand to more community oncology clinics across the country.”

Genomic testing has become a cornerstone of modern cancer care, but interpreting complex molecular results remains a challenge in many community settings. By linking expert tumor board review with a prospective, point-of-care data platform, the model improves how genomic data is interpreted and translated into actionable treatment decisions. This approach also creates clearer pathways for patients to access targeted therapies, clinical trials, prospective external controls, and other research opportunities.

“Precision oncology works best when data and clinical expertise come together in real-time,” said Michael Seiden, chief medical officer of N-Power Medicine. “By combining N-Power’s structured, prospective data from routine care with MCGI’s expert tumor board insight, this partnership is helping clinicians make more informed treatment decisions and connect patients to relevant research opportunities.”

About The Jackson Laboratory

The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center. JAX leverages a unique combination of research, education, and resources to achieve its bold mission: to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health. Established in Bar Harbor, Maine in 1929, JAX is a global organization with nearly 3,000 employees worldwide and campuses and facilities in Maine, Connecticut, California, Florida, New York, and Japan.

For more information about JAX, please visit www.jax.org.

About Bayhealth

Bayhealth’s mission is to strengthen the health of our community, one life at a time. Bayhealth's commitment to our community runs deep. As central and southern Delaware’s largest health care system, Bayhealth is comprises Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus and Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus; the freestanding Emergency Department in Smyrna; Bayhealth Emergency and Urgent Care Center, Total Care in Milton; as well as numerous satellite facilities and Bayhealth Medical Group-employed clinician practices encompassing a variety of specialties. Bayhealth is a technologically advanced not-for-profit health care system with more than 5,000 team members and a medical staff of more than 690 physicians and 300 advanced practice clinicians. Bayhealth is a member of the Penn Cancer Network and an affiliate of Penn Medicine for cardiothoracic surgery.

To learn more about Bayhealth’s programs, visit: Bayhealth.org/Cancer.

About N-Power Medicine

N-Power Medicine is leading a revolution in how oncology trials are designed and conducted. Through a next-generation network of community oncologists and proprietary infrastructure, N-Power delivers faster, smarter clinical trials powered by a first-of-its-kind always-on external control arm embedded in routine care. By enabling drug developers to move beyond traditional randomized clinical trials, N-Power dramatically accelerates drug development timelines, broadens access to clinical trials in the community, and brings transformative therapies to patients faster.

For more information about N-Power Medicine, visit npowermedicine.com.