Awarded in 2020
Home Department: Epidemiology and Population Health
Faculty Advisors: Mindie H. Nguyen (Medicine – Gastroenterology & Hepatology) and Shan Xiang Wang (Materials Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering)

Research Title: Development and Validation of a Methylated Cell-Free DNA Biomarker Screening Panel for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Early Detection in a Multicenter Cohort

Research Description: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Early HCC diagnosis increases survival, but the current HCC surveillance tests (ultrasound and serum alpha-fetoprotein) have suboptimal accuracy. The Nguyen and Wang labs have integrated meta-analysis and microarray data to identify certain methylated cell-free DNA biomarkers for HCC. Biyao will employ giant magnetoresistive biosensor technology to develop a rapid and low-cost multiplexed assay to screen and quantify these biomarkers, and then validate the accuracy of this HCC biomarker diagnostic in a well-characterized multicenter cohort. This interdisciplinary approach of computational modeling, bioinformatics, and biosensing techniques will pave the way to cost-effective and portable HCC surveillance based on highly accurate HCC biomarkers, and will improve HCC survival.

WHERE IS SHE NOW?

Biyao is an epidemiologist and observational research manager at Amgen, a leading biotech company. At Amgen, she leverages real-world patient data to address questions throughout the drug development lifecycle and enhance the understanding of diseases, therapeutic interventions, and clinical outcomes.