Glioblastoma is the most aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer, yet it is usually discovered only after symptoms appear—when treatment options are limited and far less effective. Current diagnostic tools rely on invasive brain biopsies, making early detection difficult and leaving many patients without access to personalized immunotherapies that could better target their tumors. Dr. Sui Yuk (Candace) Chan aims to answer a critical question: Can we detect glioblastoma earlier and design individualized treatments using only a blood sample?
Dr. Chan is pursuing this question using neomers, short DNA and RNA sequences that appear only in tumors and never in healthy tissue. When cancer cells die, they release these fragments into the bloodstream, where they can be detected through a simple blood draw. Her early work shows that neomers can identify glioblastoma with accuracy surpassing many FDA-approved detection tools. Building on this foundation, she will refine a blood-based test for early detection and use the same neomer signals to pinpoint patient-specific immune targets for personalized cancer vaccines—eliminating the need for risky surgical biopsies.
Drawing on extensive expertise in cancer genomics and computational immunology, including pioneering studies using neomers across multiple cancer types, Dr. Chan is positioned to advance a safer, more accessible approach to both diagnosis and precision treatment for glioblastoma. Her research could help open new pathways for improving outcomes and quality of life for patients facing one of the most challenging cancers.
Sponsor
Ilias Georgakopoulos-Soares, PhD (Sponsor); B.J. Kim, PhD (Co-Sponsor)
Projects and Grants
Liquid Biopsy Neomer Profiling for Glioblastoma Cancer Detection and Precise Immunotherapy
