Victor Velculescu

Biography
Dr. Velculescu led the first genome wide sequence analysis in human cancers, identifying key genes and pathways dysregulated in tumorigenesis. He developed methods for global gene expression analyses and coined the word transcriptome" to describe the patterns that could now be obtained in cancer and other cells. These analyses identified a variety of genes not previously known to be involved in neoplasia, including PIK3CA as one of the most highly mutated genes in human cancer. His team's discoveries have led to new FDA approved therapies against PI3K and IDH1, and diagnostic tests for comprehensive tumor profiling. More recently, his group has created noninvasive machine learning liquid biopsy approaches for early detection and monitoring of cancer patients. His work has provided new paradigms for understanding human cancer that have benefited patients worldwide. He has been a Founder and CoCEO of Personal Genome Diagnostics and is Founder and CEO of Delfi Diagnostics.

Amoolya Singh

Biography
Amoolya Singh is Chief Technology Officer at DELFI Diagnostics. Previously, she was Senior Vice President of Research and Chief Scientific Officer at GRAIL, and prior to that, she was Head of Discovery at Calico Life Sciences, where she catalyzed multiple productive collaborations between computational groups and experimental groups. Amoolya earned a PhD in computational biology and a MS in computer science at the University of California at Berkeley. She holds a BS degree in biology and computer science from Carnegie Mellon. Amoolya completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the European Molecular Biology Lab in Heidelberg, Germany in 2008 and a Computational and Life Sciences fellowship at Emory University in 2011 in comparative genomics and metagenomics, population genetics and experimental evolution.

Peter Bach

Biography
Health policy and payment expert, pulmonary physician, and lung cancer epidemiologist, Peter has devoted his career to repairing defects in the healthcare delivery system that impede access to high-quality cancer care and working to ameliorate healthcares cost crisis. His work spans seminal studies including that identification of racial gaps in lung cancer care, the development of the first lung cancer risk prediction model (the Bach model), lead authorship on multiple lung screening guidelines, and definitional work on pharmaceutical pricing and value. Peter previously served as Senior Adviser at the US Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services and mentor on many National Institutes of Health K awards. He has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars.

Klaus Pantel

Biography
Klaus Pantel is a global pioneer in liquid biopsy whose groundbreaking research established circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and micrometastases as clinically meaningful biomarkers. His work revealed how tumor cells disseminate early in cancer progression and provided the first evidence that these rare cells could guide prognosis and therapy monitoring. Pantels leadership extended beyond the lab with the founding of the European Liquid Biopsy Society, creating the infrastructure and collaborations needed to advance blood-based cancer detection worldwide. His contributions have transformed liquid biopsy from a research concept into a cornerstone of precision oncology, enabling earlier detection, real-time treatment monitoring, and more effective cancer care.

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Talk
Early detection of cancer by multimodal liquid biopsy analysis
Early detection of cancer is one of the most challenging application of liquid biopsy with overarching goal to reduce cancer mortality. Here, I will discuss the concept of a multimodal liquid biopsy encompassing the broad range of blood biomarkers including cell-free DNA, proteins, RNAs, extracellular vesicles, metabolites as well as circulating tumor and host cells as exemplified in my EU-funded project PANCAID aimed to detect pancreatic cancer at its earliest stages.

Luis Diaz

Biography
Dr. Diaz is a physician-scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His teams provided the first definitive evidence for using circulating tumor DNA as cancer biomarker for screening, monitoring, and detection of occult disease; and discovered the therapeutic link between immunotherapy and cancer genetics in patients with mismatch repair deficient tumors. This research led to the historic first pan-tumor FDA approval for any solid tumors with this genetic lesion and the first cancer study that resulted in a 100% complete response rate. He is the recipient of numerous recognitions for his work including the Waun Ki Hong Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research. He is Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Discovery and is an elected member of the Giants of Cancer Care, the AACR Fellows Academy, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and the American Academy of Physicians. In 2021, Dr. Diaz was appointed by President Joseph Biden to the National Cancer Advisory Board.

Varsha Rao

Biography
Dr. Varsha Rao is the VP of Partnerships and Clinical Affairs at ClaretBio. She oversees the clinical applications of the novel next-generation sequence assays and analytical pipelines developed at ClaretBio with a main focus on evaluating the utility of cell-free DNA fragmentation patterns in cancer progression and treatment response monitoring. Before joining ClaretBio, she was a Research Scientist at Stanford University School of Medicine in Prof Michael Snyder's lab. As a part of multiple consortia such as the Integrative Personalized Omics Profiling Project, the Human Microbiome Project and the NASA Twins Study she has worked on longitudinal multiomic analyses, focusing on applying transcriptomics and liquid biopsy approaches to understand nuances of metabolic diseases, cancer, infectious disease and general health. She received her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2012.

Anne-Renee Hartman

Biography
Dr. Hartman is a leader in oncology diagnostics with over 20 years of experience developing clinical cancer tests. Leveraging her expertise across the continuum of care, from early detection to minimal residual disease monitoring, she has spearheaded pivotal trials in risk stratification, cancer screening, and cancer management during her leadership roles at Myriad Genetics and GRAIL. Driven by a passion for innovation, Dr. Hartman co founded Adela to pioneer a high performing liquid biopsy utilizing whole methylome technology. With diverse expertise in clinical development, product development and diagnostic platforms, she is translating her deep knowledge into transformative molecular approaches for early diagnosis and tailored treatment.

Daniel De Carvalho

Biography
Dr. Daniel De Carvalho is a leading cancer biologist recognized for pioneering cfDNA methylome profiling (cfMeDIP-seq), the first method to demonstrate that tumor-specific methylation patterns in plasma can reveal both the presence and tissue-of-origin of cancer. His research bridges epigenetics, liquid biopsy, and translational oncology, driving new approaches for early cancer detection, minimal residual disease detection, surveillance, classification and monitoring therapy response. At the University of Toronto and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, his lab investigates how DNA methylation dynamics inform tumor evolution, transposable elements regulation, viral mimicry and treatment response. Dr. De Carvalho’s discoveries have reshaped how scientists and clinicians view the potential of epigenetic biomarkers in precision oncology and pioneered the use of cfDNA methylation for clinical use.

Giordano Botta

Biography
Giordano Botta is the Co-Founder and CEO of Allelica Inc, where he drives the development and clinical implementation of multi-ancestry polygenic risk scores (PRS). Under his leadership, Allelica pioneered the first clinical multi-ancestry PRS test for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), breast and prostate cancer, now used by leading healthcare systems. He focuses on cost-effectiveness analysis to ensure the long-term sustainability of PRS tests. Botta has overseen the creation of a software engine and the integration of genomic and clinical data from over one million individuals of diverse ancestries to develop and validate PRS. His primary interest is advancing the integration of PRS for CAD and common cancers into standard medical care, improving prevention and early intervention strategies.

Luis Diaz

Biography
Dr. Diaz is a physician-scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His teams provided the first definitive evidence for using circulating tumor DNA as cancer biomarker for screening, monitoring, and detection of occult disease; and discovered the therapeutic link between immunotherapy and cancer genetics in patients with mismatch repair deficient tumors. This research led to the historic first pan-tumor FDA approval for any solid tumors with this genetic lesion and the first cancer study that resulted in a 100% complete response rate. He is the recipient of numerous recognitions for his work including the Waun Ki Hong Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research. He is Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Discovery and is an elected member of the Giants of Cancer Care, the AACR Fellows Academy, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and the American Academy of Physicians. In 2021, Dr. Diaz was appointed by President Joseph Biden to the National Cancer Advisory Board.

Klaus Pantel

Biography
Klaus Pantel is a global pioneer in liquid biopsy whose groundbreaking research established circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and micrometastases as clinically meaningful biomarkers. His work revealed how tumor cells disseminate early in cancer progression and provided the first evidence that these rare cells could guide prognosis and therapy monitoring. Pantels leadership extended beyond the lab with the founding of the European Liquid Biopsy Society, creating the infrastructure and collaborations needed to advance blood-based cancer detection worldwide. His contributions have transformed liquid biopsy from a research concept into a cornerstone of precision oncology, enabling earlier detection, real-time treatment monitoring, and more effective cancer care.

Manish Kohli

Biography
Dr Kohli's academic journey as a physician and physician-scientist over the past 24 years has centered on multi-disciplinary teams that deliver convergence science-based solutions to enhance cancer care. He has worked in NCI-designated comprehensive cancer care matrix centers, tertiary-level VA facilities, university settings, and not-for-profit clinics, gaining a deep understanding of the complexities inherent in each care model. Currently, he holds the position of tenured Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Jack and Hazel Robertson Presidential Endowed Chair at the University of Utah-Huntsman Cancer Institute in cancer research. As a clinician-scientist his multi-disciplinary teams focus has secured continuous and multiple NIH RO1 grant funding since 2011.He develops real-world annotated biobanks to apply the rapid advances in computing power to develop patented algorithms through in silico multi-omic, machine learning modeling for clinical applications that can results in developing innovative biomarker-based enrichment-type clinical trial designs for enhancing individualized care in cancer.

Klaus Pantel

Biography
Klaus Pantel is a global pioneer in liquid biopsy whose groundbreaking research established circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and micrometastases as clinically meaningful biomarkers. His work revealed how tumor cells disseminate early in cancer progression and provided the first evidence that these rare cells could guide prognosis and therapy monitoring. Pantels leadership extended beyond the lab with the founding of the European Liquid Biopsy Society, creating the infrastructure and collaborations needed to advance blood-based cancer detection worldwide. His contributions have transformed liquid biopsy from a research concept into a cornerstone of precision oncology, enabling earlier detection, real-time treatment monitoring, and more effective cancer care.

Victor Velculescu

Biography
Dr. Velculescu led the first genome wide sequence analysis in human cancers, identifying key genes and pathways dysregulated in tumorigenesis. He developed methods for global gene expression analyses and coined the word transcriptome" to describe the patterns that could now be obtained in cancer and other cells. These analyses identified a variety of genes not previously known to be involved in neoplasia, including PIK3CA as one of the most highly mutated genes in human cancer. His team's discoveries have led to new FDA approved therapies against PI3K and IDH1, and diagnostic tests for comprehensive tumor profiling. More recently, his group has created noninvasive machine learning liquid biopsy approaches for early detection and monitoring of cancer patients. His work has provided new paradigms for understanding human cancer that have benefited patients worldwide. He has been a Founder and CoCEO of Personal Genome Diagnostics and is Founder and CEO of Delfi Diagnostics.

Daniel De Carvalho

Biography
Dr. Daniel De Carvalho is a leading cancer biologist recognized for pioneering cfDNA methylome profiling (cfMeDIP-seq), the first method to demonstrate that tumor-specific methylation patterns in plasma can reveal both the presence and tissue-of-origin of cancer. His research bridges epigenetics, liquid biopsy, and translational oncology, driving new approaches for early cancer detection, minimal residual disease detection, surveillance, classification and monitoring therapy response. At the University of Toronto and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, his lab investigates how DNA methylation dynamics inform tumor evolution, transposable elements regulation, viral mimicry and treatment response. Dr. De Carvalhos discoveries have reshaped how scientists and clinicians view the potential of epigenetic biomarkers in precision oncology and pioneered the use of cfDNA methylation for clinical use.

Matthew Baker

Biography
Prof. Baker is the co-founder of Dxcover, a clinical-stage company pioneering multi-cancer early detection using advanced infrared spectroscopy and multi-omic AI analysis. A recognised leader in spectroscopic diagnostics, he has driven the development of a platform capable of delivering rapid, low-cost blood tests for early-stage cancer detection across multiple tumour types.Matt has led Dxcovers expansion across Europe and the United States, including the establishment of a CLIA laboratory in Nashville and the advancement of major regulatory pathways such as CE-IVDR and UKCA. His work has contributed to more than 150 scientific publications and multiple patents focused on translating laboratory innovations into clinical tools with real-world impact.He is passionate about transforming population health through accessible early detection AI technologies and is currently guiding Dxcover through its next phase of commercial and clinical growth.

Manel Esteller

Biography
Dr. Esteller is an internationally recognized figure in epigenetics and oncology. His pioneering work has been instrumental in understanding how epigenetic mechanismsprocesses that regulate gene expression without altering the DNA sequenceaffect the development of cancer and other complex diseases.

Eric Klein

Biography
Eric A. Klein is a Distinguished Scientist at GRAIL. Previously he served as the Andrew C. Novick Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute and Lerner College of Medicine of the Cleveland Clinic, where he was also a member of the Department of Cancer Biology of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, the Taussig Cancer Institute, and the Genitourinary Malignancies Program in the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Kleins clinical and research interests focused on prostate cancer with an emphasis on genomics and clinical trials. Most recently his work has focused on the clinical development of multicancer early detection tests. Dr. Klein was a Fellow in the Distinguished Careers Institute at Stanford University in 2022 and joined GRAIL in 2023.

Charles Chiu

Biography
Charles Chiu, M.D. Ph.D. is a Professor at UCSF, Director of the UCS-FAbbott Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center (VDDC), and Associate Director of the UCSF Clinical Microbiology Laboratory. Chiu currently leads a translational research laboratory focused on clinical metagenomic sequencing assay development for infectious diseases and genomic investigation and surveillance of emerging pathogens, including the SARSCoV2 coronavirus. He also uses RNASeq transcriptome profiling to develop predictive models using machine learning for host response based diagnosis of COVID19 and other infections. Chius work is supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), philanthropy, and the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine. He has authored more than 100 peer reviewed publications (20 on COVID19), holds over 15 patents and patent applications, and serves on the scientific advisory board for Mammoth Biosciences, Danaher Dx, Biomesense, and Flightpath.

Gordon Sanghera

Biography
CEO and co-founder of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, pioneering real-time, scalable DNARNA sequencing. With a PhD in bioelectronic technology, he led the company from spinout to global player, transforming genomics with portable sequencing devices. Sanghera champions accessible, decentralized sequencing for research, healthcare, and public health worldwide.

Samuel Levy

Biography
Samuel joined ClearNote Health at its inception and has co-authored many of the research papers we have published about our epigenomics technology platform and our DNA-based 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) biomarker. For more than 20 years, he has held leadership positions in genomics and molecular diagnostic development at companies including Celera, Genomic Health, Quanticel Pharmaceuticals (now part of Celgene), and Impact GenomicsLexent Bio which he co-founded and is now a part of Foundation Medicine. Samuel has also served on the faculty at the J. Craig Venter Institute, Scripps Translational Science Institute and Scripps Research Institute. He holds degrees from the University of Bristol and the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.