Speaker Profile
PMWC LUMINARY AWARD
OBE, FRS, FMedSci, Professor of Cancer Prevention; Director, Early Cancer Institute, and Head, Academic Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Biography
Rebecca Fitzgerald is a leading figure in cancer prevention and early detection. She is best known for developing Capsule Sponge or Cytosponge, the “sponge on a string” test for identifying Barrett’s esophagus and early esophageal cancer, providing a practical, less-invasive model for risk-based screening and reducing reliance on endoscopy.
Her work has carried this technology across the full translational arc, from mechanistic and biomarker research through large randomized trials, NHS pilots, and large-scale population screening studies, setting a benchmark for how an early detection tool moves from concept to clinical implementation. As Director of the Early Cancer Institute at Cambridge, she has built a program focused on intercepting cancer at its earliest and most treatable stages.
A Fellow of the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences, and American Association of Cancer Research, Fitzgerald continues to shape the future of cancer prevention, precision screening, and early cancer interception.
Talk
tbc
tbc
Session Abstract – PMWC 2027 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Victor Velculescu, Johns Hopkins University
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Daniel De Carvalho, University of Toronto
From Mutation to Methylation: The Next Wave of Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers
• Chair: Victor Velculescu, Johns Hopkins University
• Daniel De Carvalho, University of Toronto
• Stephen Master, CHOP/U Penn
• Gordon Sanghera, Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Advancing Minimal Residual Disease Detection Through cfDNA & cfRNA Profiling
• Chair: Luis Diaz, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Anne-Renee Hartman, Adela
• Minetta Liu, Natera
• Rita Shaknovich, Agilent
• Ajay Gannerkote, Integrated DNA Tech
AI-Informed Biomarker Trials: Turning Early Signals into Actionable Designs
• Chair: Manish Kohli, University of Utah
• Eric Klein, GRAIL
• Sarah Moseley, DELFI Diagnostics
• Samuel Levy, ClearNote Health
Role of AI in Liquid Biopsies & Cancer Detection
• Chair: Amoolya Singh, DELFI Diagnostics
• Ron Andrews, Dxcover
• Pankaj Vats, NVIDIA
• Paul Shi, Amgen
• Christopher Troll, Claret Bioscience
Integrating Genetic Risk with Early Detection: A Precision Prevention Framework for Cardiovascular Disease
• Paolo Di Domenico, Allelica
AI-Driven Metagenomic and Host RNA Profiling for Precision Diagnosis of Infections
• Charles Chiu, UCSF
AI-Driven Host–Pathogen Signatures from Plasma cfDNA: Bridging Infection Biology and Early Diagnostics
• Sivan Bercovici, Karius
Ultra-Sensitive Multimodal Liquid Biopsy for Early Cancer Detection: AI-Driven Signal Profiling
• John Sninsky, CellMax Life
Overcoming Limits of Traditional cfDNA Assays Using Active Chromatin
• Diana Abdueva, Aqtual
Whole-genome methylome-based early cancer signal detection
• Sally Mackenzie, EpiMethyl Analytics
BrainSee Sees the Brain: FDA-Approved AI for Predicting Modifiable Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s Within Five Year
• Padideh Kamali-Zare, Darmiyan
