Speaker Profile
M.D., M.D., Head, Division of Solid Tumor Oncology, MSKCC
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.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2026 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Victor Velculescu, Johns Hopkins
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Klaus Pantel, UKE & ELBS
• Daniel De Carvalho, University of Toronto
Keynote
• Klaus Pantel, UKE & ELBS
From Mutation to Methylation: The Next Wave of Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers
• Chair: Victor Velculescu, Johns Hopkins
• Daniel De Carvalho, University of Toronto
• Manel Esteller, Sant Pau Research Institute
Advancing Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) Detection through cfDNA and cfRNA Profiling
• Chair: Luis Diaz, MSKCC
• Anne-Renee Hartman, Adela
• Klaus Pantel, UKE & ELBS
AI-Informed Biomarker Trials: Turning Early Detection Signals into Clinically Actionable Designs
• Chair: Manish Kohli, University of Utah
• Luis Diaz, MSKCC
• Amoolya Singh, DELFI Diagnostics
• Peter Bach, DELFI Diagnostics
Fragmentomics for Early Detection: End Motifs and Library Prep
• Varsha Rao, Claret Bioscience
Integrating Genetic Risk with Early Detection: A Precision Prevention Framework for Cardiovascular Disease
• Giordano Botta, Allelica
Role of AI in Liquid Biopsies and Cancer Detection
• Chair: Amoolya Singh, DELFI Diagnostics
• Matthew Baker, Dxcover
