Session Abstract – PMWC 2027 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Adrian Lee, UPMC
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Dennis J. Slamon, UCLA
• Arul M. Chinnaiyan, University of Michigan
Keynote: Molecular Diversity of Human Malignancies: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications
• Dennis J. Slamon, UCLA
Keynote: From Cancer Drivers to Clinical Decisions: Transforming Tumor Genomics
• Arul M. Chinnaiyan, University of Michigan
Serial ctDNA-Guided Therapy Switching (SERENA-6 & Beyond)
• Chair: Adrian Lee, UPMC
• Pedram Razavi, MSK
• Minetta Liu, Natera
• Emre Baser, Astrazeneca
• Christian Rolfo, Ohio State
Neoadjuvant to Adjuvant MRD: How Early Is Early Enough?
• Chair: Mark Magbanua, UCSF
• Halla Nimeiri, Tempus
• Aparna Parikh, Harvard
• Minetta Liu, Natera
• C. Ola Landgren, U Miami
• Christopher Lieu, U Colorado
Rapid MRD to Treatment Decisions: Standardized ctDNA at Scale
• Chair: Luca Quagliata, Thermo Fisher
• Christian Rolfo, Ohio State
Multi-Omics Monitoring Beyond Variants: Methylation, Fragmentomics, EV/ctRNA
• Chair: David T. Miyamoto, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Maximilian Diehn, Stanford
• Daniel De Carvalho, University of Toronto
• Luis Diaz, MSKCC
• Amar Das, Guardant Health
Improving Care with Every Test: Powering a Continuous Learning Cycle in Molecular Diagnostics
• Phil Febbo, Veracyte
Precision Engineering: Customizing High-Sensitivity ctDNA Assays for Therapy Guidance at Scale
• Siyuan Chen, Twist Bioscience
From Validation to Payment: Coverage Pathways That Work
• Chair: Mark Stewart, Friends of Cancer Research
• Hilary Gee Goeckner, American Cancer Society (ACS)
• Sally Werner, Cancer Support Community
• Gabriel A. Bien-Willner, Palmetto GBA
• Lucy Langer, UnitedHealthcare
Speaker Profile
Ph.D., Professor, Harvard
Biography
Speaker Profile
Deputy Clinical Director & Principal Group Leader, Francis Crick Inst.
Biography
Speaker Profile
M.D., Chief Scientific & Medical Officer, Veracyte
Biography
Dr. Phil Febbo is Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at Veracyte, a global cancer diagnostics company where he remains focused on improving cancer outcomes through discovery, development, and accessibility of innovative, high-quality molecular diagnostics. He held multiple clinical and scientific roles over 15 years in academia at Dana-Farber, Harvard Medical School, the Whitehead Institute for Genome Research, Duke University, and UCSF where he was Professor of Medicine and Urology. After transitioning to industry, he was Chief Medical Officer at Genomic Health (2013-2018) and Illumina (2018-2023). Dr. Febbo served on the boards of Varian Inc. (Director) and the A CMG Foundation and is currently on the boards of the Reagan Udall Foundation for the FDA (Vice-Chair) and ASC Os Conquer Cancer Foundation. He holds a B. A. in Biology from Dartmouth College, an M. D. from UCSF, completed internal medicine residency at the Brigham and Womens Hospital, and medical oncology fellowship at the DFCI.
Speaker Profile
PMWC PIONEER AWARD
M.D.,Ph.D., Division Chief of Radiation and Cancer Biology, Stanford
Biography
Maximilian Diehn received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College and his M.D./Ph.D. in Biophysics from Stanford University. He is a board certified Radiation Oncologist and specializes in the treatment of lung cancers. Dr. Diehn’s current research program spans laboratory, translational, and clinical studies. His areas of interest include cancer genomics, stem cell biology, and lung cancer biology. His work has been recognized with a variety of awards, including the V Foundation Scholar Award, the Sidney Kimmel Scholar Award, the Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award, and the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. His group has developed an ultra sensitive and specific method for detection of circulating tumor DNA called CAPP-Seq. Current work is focused on applying CAPP-Seq to a range of clinical contexts, with an emphasis on tumor heterogeneity and minimal residual disease.
Speaker Profile
PMWC LUMINARY AWARD
Pioneered the clinical use of ctDNA to monitor treatment response, detect residual disease, and anticipate cancer relapse.
Ph.D., Professor, U. of Melbourne
Biography
Professor Sarah-Jane Dawson is a clinician-scientist. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Melbourne in 1998, and trained as a medical oncologist in Melbourne, Australia.
She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK. Following postdoctoral studies at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, she returned to Melbourne in 2014 to head the Molecular Biomarkers and Translational Genomics Laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. She also holds a joint appointment with the Centre of Cancer Research at The University of Melbourne (since 2016) and currently holds a CSL Centenary Fellowship (2018-2022).
She is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and was recipient of the Jian Zhou Medal in recognition of translational medical science in 2020.
Her current research interests are focused on the development of noninvasive blood-based biomarkers ('liquid biopsies') for clinical application, including early detection, risk stratification and disease monitoring in cancer management.
