Registration and refreshments

Development and commercialisation of GALEAS Bladder, a liquid biopsy test for bladder cancer - Doug Ward, GALEAS™ Bladder

Doug will describe how researchers at the University of Birmingham have utilised clinical specimens collected at hospitals across the region to develop and validate a urine based test for detecting bladder cancer. The test relies on detecting mutations in a panel of 23 cancer associated genes using urine DNA and exhibits high sensitivity and specificity for incident disease detection. I will talk about the need for such a test, the research behind the test, working with a Birmingham-based company, Nonacus, to develop the test as a commercial product, their commercial strategy, and our ongoing clinical studies and future goals

Multi-cancer early detection tests for cancer screening - Dr Sarah L. Moseley, Head of Med Affairs Europe, GRAIL Bio UK Ltd

Cancers without a screening programme account for the majority of cancer cases, and most cancers that result in death are detected in advanced stages when it's too late. Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests are designed to detect many types of cancer from a sample of blood. Galleri® is an MCED blood test that has been shown to detect a signal shared by more than 50 types of cancer and to predict the tissue type or organ where the cancer signal originates. Sarah will outline the Galleri test and the current evidence supporting its analytical and clinical validation for cancer screening and potential for other applications. She will also provide an introduction to the NHS-Galleri trial, a prospective, randomised controlled trial with more than 140,000 participants that is investigating the Galleri test for population screening in England.

Terahertz research at Warwick and UHCW: Terabotics Programme Grant - Emma MacPherson, Department of Physics, University of Warwick

New technology that will marry probes that can detect cancer tumours through the skin with high-precision robotic surgery is to be developed for use in hospital settings for the first time in a project led by the University of Warwick. The Terabotics project will use probes that use terahertz radiation, or T-rays, to scan for tumours under the skin while medical-grade surgical robots will be adapted to use these scans to guide them in removing tumours in skin and colorectal cancer patients more precisely.

Diagnostic miRNA biomarkers for Therapy-induced cardiovascular injury (TICvI) - Dr Hardip Sandhu, Assistant Professor Research, Centre for Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University

Early detection of TICvI remains a major safety issue in drug development. Circulating cardiovascular injury-associated miRNAs in patient blood samples can serve as early biomarkers for TICvI. My team at Coventry University work closely with cardiologists, oncologists and Pharma Industry partners on novel collaborative projects. As a successful outcome, we have assessed the specific target roles and expression signatures of cardiac injury-associated miRNAs, and these can serve as potential TICvI-associated biomarkers in cancer patients receiving anti-cancer therapy. Detection of these novel TICvI-associated miRNA biomarkers holds immense commercial potential, as they can robustly screen patients and candidate drugs for TICvI adverse effects.

Cross-linking omics and histological imaging with AI - Dr Fayyaz Minhas, Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick

We will explore the integration of various 'omics' data (like genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) with histological imaging using artificial intelligence. This integration aims to enhance our understanding of the complex biological processes and their manifestation in tissues at a molecular level. The use of AI can offer novel insights into disease mechanisms, potentially leading to more precise diagnostics and personalized treatment strategies. The talk would also discuss the challenges and advancements in combining these diverse data types through AI algorithms to create a more holistic view of pathology.