Speaker Profile
Ph.D., CSO, Droplet Biosciences
Biography
Wendy Winckler has over 20 years of cancer genomics experience, including serving as CSO for Glympse Bio. She led Oncology Next Generation Diagnostics at Novartis and numerous early cancer genome studies at the Broad Institute. Dr. Winckler holds a BS in microbiology and molecular genetics from UCLA and a PhD in genetics from Harvard.
Talk
Lymph liquid biopsy: enabling precision adjuvant decisions
Postoperative lymphatic exudate is a novel proximal biofluid for detecting MRD. Lymph significantly outperforms time-matched plasma for recurrence identification in head and neck cancer, particularly for locoregional recurrence. Accurate MRD identification in patients with lower risk pathologic features suggests that lymph testing has potential to augment traditional pathology and provide more personalized adjuvant treatment decision-making.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2025 Silicon Valley
Track Chair: Adrian Lee, UPMC
- PMWC Award Ceremony
Pioneer Honoree: Victor Velculescu, Johns Hopkins
Luminary Honoree: Nicola Aceto, ETH Zurich
- Keynote: Early Detection of Cancer using Cell-free DNA Fragmentomes
- Victor Velculescu, Johns Hopkins - Keynote: Circulating Tumor Cells
- Nicola Aceto, ETH Zurich - Innovative Approaches in Liquid Biopsy (PANEL)
Chair: Victor Velculescu, Johns Hopkins
- Adam Widman, MSKCC
- Improving Sensitivity of MRD and MCED - Tumor-agnostic vs. Tumor-informed ctDNA Approaches
Chair: Adrian Lee, University of Pittsburgh
- Marija Balic, UPMC
- Ola Carl Landgren, University of Miami - Sequencing Accuracy in Early Detection and MRD (PANEL)
Chair: Alex Sockell, PacBio
- James Hadfield, AstraZeneca
- Cristian Tomasetti, City of Hope
- Circulating Tumor Cells: The New Frontier (PANEL)
Chair: Nicola Aceto, ETH Zurich
- Min Yu, University of Maryland School of Medicine
- Matteo Ligorio, UTSW - Addressing Key Challenges and Questions in MCED Testing: Clinical Validation, Overdiagnosis, and Diagnostic Pathways
Chair: Tom Beer, Exact Sciences
- PMWC Showcase
- Wendy Winckler, Droplet Biosciences - Multi-Cancer Early Detection: Innovations and Real-World Evidence (PANEL)
Chair: Peter Bach, Delphi Dx
- Joshua Cohen, Haystack
- Lauren Leiman, BLOODPAC
- Josh Ofman, Grail Bio
- Tom Beer, Exact Sciences - PMWC Showcase
- Varsha Rao, Claret Bio
