Dr. Miller has researched neurodegenerative diseases for over a decade to acquire and build an evolving team of scientists and staff at PDx. They create the most comprehensive patient-specific profile utilizing an interdisciplinary approach incorporating Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Genetics, Medical Brain Scans, and Clinical Reports. The team continues to make groundbreaking scientific discoveries to help the everyday person.
Meet Dr. Sean James Miller
Dr. Sean James Miller grew up with a single mother who cared for himself and his siblings in Reading, Pennsylvania in one of the poorest and most violent places. His childhood was problematic and brought him to a state-regulated facility with a majority of his education. The birth of his daughter, Yasmine Elizabeth Miller, is what he calls his turning point. This was a key time in his life and a chance to improve his life.
Looking back
Motivated by his high school calculus teacher, Mr. Robert Neiswender, he applied to schools in Pennsylvania and was accepted to Drexel University’s Organismal Physiology program with an academic scholarship. At Drexel, Dr. Miller needed an income stream to support himself and his family. With perseverance, Dr. Miller took an opportunity with Dr. Aleister J. Saunders to research the molecular pathology of Alzheimer’s disease in human cells and fruit flies. This is ultimately where Dr. Miller found his passion for neurosciences, particularly in neurodegeneration.
Concluding his freshmen year, he was accepted into the fully-funded STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) program at the Pennoni Honors College. During this summer, Dr. Miller and colleagues developed the first Alzheimer’s disease transgenic fruit flies that can still be used for drug screening.
Ground-Breaking Advancements
In an accelerated three years, Dr. Miller graduated from Drexel University. Passionate about neurodegenerative medicine, he ventured to Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital to join the laboratory of the Alzheimer’s pioneer, Dr. Rudolph E. Tanzi. In Dr. Tanzi’s laboratory, he made ground-breaking advancements in the understanding of functional neurogenetics related to neurodegeneration.
The Rise and Rise of Dr. Miller
During this time, Dr. Miller published a co-first author publication in the renowned journal, Science. Determined to find a cure for neurodegenerative diseases, Dr. Miller matriculated into the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine doctoral program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine.
At Johns Hopkins, he performed his doctoral dissertation under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey D. Rothstein at the Brain Science Institute and ALS Packard Center. In four and half years, Dr. Miller completed his Ph.D. with publishing over 10 international manuscripts with 7 being first-authored in journals: Science, Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, and more, an international patent on treatments for neurological disorders with brain-penetrating nanoparticles, National Science Foundation doctoral fellow, international presentations, and awarded by the Society for Neuroscience.
Birth of Pluripotent Diagnostics
In 2018, Dr. Miller entered the post-doctoral program at Stanford University School of Medicine in the Department of Neurology under the mentorship of Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray. At Stanford, Dr. Miller spearheaded his research on understanding the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier in aging-associated disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. During this time, Dr. Miller was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship from the American Federation for Aging Research and the Glenn Foundation to perform his research. One year later, Dr. Miller finished his postdoctoral program by publishing a solo-authored manuscript, currently one of the top-cited papers in the journal Frontiers. This is the moment that Dr. Sean James Miller founded Pluripotent Diagnostics in his apartment in Silicon Valley.
“The biggest factor contributing to my success is the environment in which I grew up. The negative experiences living in a poor and crime-ridden area motivated me to move forward and never look back. Since then, I have accepted this past and allowed my experiences to serve as motivation through my academic career and creation of PDx.”
Pluripotent Diagnostics (PDx) is focused on eliminating genetic diseases completely with the knowledge that the complete lack of early disease diagnostics is hindering the ability to provide early therapies and cures to patients. The founder steers
“PDx provides completely encrypted, HIPAA, CLIA, and CAP compliance to ensure the overall privacy and safety of their services. Additionally, PDx provides direct consumers to Dr. Miller’s communications. When clients contact PDx, they are in direct contact with the scientist behind the genetic testing which ultimately offers a unique personalized experience for each consumer.”
Looking forward
PDx is driving towards finalizing their machine learning ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease classifier and submitting it to the FDA for approval, with their international patent, “Methods to Detect Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis”.
“At PDx, we can provide whole-genome sequencing with ten times coverage. Fifteen years ago, this was not feasible. PDx is excited to witness new technologies aid in the medical industries.” quotes the founder
In parallel, PDx is developing their gene therapy programs and optimizing their Artificial Intelligence algorithms for Alzheimer’s disease prediction from medical imaging scans: MRI, PET, DTI, and fMRI. Additionally, PDx is expanding to an international audience, developing an “at home” test for specific mutations, and working with insurance companies to help more clients.
“At Pluripotent Diagnostics (PDx), we believe in a world free of genetic disorders, ” says Dr. Miller. Statistically, 7 out of 10 people die of a genetically related disease. PDx proprietary patented solutions enable early genetic diagnoses at all ages to create customized person-specific therapeutic interventions. Ideally, this can improve and prolong lives, even prevent diseases altogether.”
Concluding Thoughts
“As a leader, it is important to change the perspective of what a leader is. It is not what your team can do for you, it is what you can do for your team. Get to know each individual and truly utilize the position to provide mentorship and growth. The specialized focus will drive the most from the team and allow the leader to leave an impact. Also, do not let your background and environment determine your future. You determine your future and when you find your passion, continue forward.” quotes the CEO Dr. Sean James Miller.
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