Speaker Profile
M.D.,Ph.D., Co-Director of Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics, Johns Hopkins
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.
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
