Speaker Profile
Biography
Dr. Chen is a strategic thinker with proven track record of identifying, developing, and commercializing innovative products in NGS, synthetic biology, and other life science areas. Dr. Chen conceived and implemented a new product line for NGS that includes synthetic controls for SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases, developed gene synthesis and NGS target enrichment biochemistries, workflow, reagent kits, and infrastructure, and built the companys prototype DNA synthesizer in collaboration with hardware, software, and silicon engineers, which later became a production-scale machine, serving as Twists foundation technology. Dr. Chen is the author of numerous peer-reviewed papers and issued patents in the field of oligonucleotide synthesis and application of synthetic oligonucleotides. He earned his Ph. D. in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and B. Sc. in Chemistry from Peking University in Beijing, China.
Talk
MRD: Racing Against Time and Pushing Against Limits
Latest in MRD (Minimal Residual Disease) Testing: High-sensitivity diagnostic application in oncology by Twist Bioscience
Session Abstract – PMWC 2026 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




