Conference Day 1 | June 26, 2025

Explore our Conference Day One Agenda for the Liquid Biopsy for Precision Oncology East Coast Summit!

7:30 am Morning Registration & Light Breakfast

8:25 am Chairs Opening Remarks

  • Minakshi Guha Associate Director - PTM Strategic Innovations, Takeda Pharmaceutical

Establishing Standardized & Optimized Frameworks to Enable Reliable, Reproducible Results for Accelerated Liquid Biopsy Adoption

8:30 am Enhancing Collaboration & Harmonization in Liquid Biopsy Surveillance: A BLOODPAC Perspective

Synopsis

  • Highlighting key strategies to foster collaboration among stakeholders in liquid biopsy research
  • Introducing the new lexicon designed to standardize terminology and practices across the liquid biopsy field

Updated Information

9:00 am Session Reserved for: Foundation Medicine

9:30 am Diagnostic Landscape in Rare Diseases: Strategies to Improve Patient’s Journey & Outcomes

  • Haifa Ghandour Associate Director, Diagnostics Strategy & Development, Alexion Pharma UK

Synopsis

  • Challenges of diagnosis in rare diseases therapeutic areas and clinical trials designs
  • Insights into development and validation of diagnostics strategies, adoption and impact
  • Identifying collaboration and harmonizing global access to improve diagnostic guidelines and patients care

Rare Disease

10:00 am Panel Discussion:Accelerating Liquid Biopsy Application to Real-World Settings with Standardized Protocols & Measures

  • Supriya Shah Associate Director - Precision Medicine Oncology, Johnson & Johnson
  • Brian Dougherty Executive Director - Global Genomics & Translational Medicine Oncology, AstraZeneca

Synopsis

• Developing universal measures to gain confidence in liquid biopsy testing 

• What are best strategies for applying liquid biopsy insights from controlled trials to diverse, real-world patient populations?

• What are the actionable frameworks to help healthcare providers integrate liquid biopsy protocols seamlessly into existing diagnostic workflows?

10:30 am Speed Networking Session

Synopsis

As the Liquid Biopsy community unites again, this valuable session will ensure that you can connect

with your peers in the room to make new and lasting connections. All attendees will have the

opportunity to meet and network with their industry peers.

Driving Early Intervention & Personalised Monitoring Through Biomarker Innovation in Oncology

11:30 am Integrating Biomarker Insights to Guide Dose Selection & Monitor Therapeutic Response in Immuno-Oncology

  • Radha Ramesh Associate Director - Clinical Biomarker Lead - Oncology, Takeda Pharmaceutical

Synopsis

  • How iitune-1 trial utilizes comprehensive biomarker analysis to guide dose selection
  • How plasma biomarkers, RNA seq analysis contribute to evaluating innate and adaptive immune responses
  • Retrospective analysis into how ctDNA changes correlate with clinical outcomes, to provide insights in its value in monitoring therapeutic efficacy

Immuno-Oncology

12:00 pm Session Reserved for: Natera

12:30 pm ctDNA Analysis Enhances MRI-Based (RECIST) Assessment of Response in Clinical Trial of Second-Line Advanced HCC

  • David Wurtman Chief Business Officer, Geneos Therapeutics, Inc.

Synopsis

  • ctDNA highlights molecular responses to resolve lack of clarity from MRI images alone
  • Combining ctDNA with MRI allows for broader, and earlier, detection of response in second-line advanced HCC to enhance clinical trial readout
  • ctDNA-guided monitoring supports ongoing personalized treatment to improve optimize patient outcomes by elucidating potential basis for immune escape and offering design guidance for updated therapeutics

Personalized Cancer Vaccines

1:00 pm Panel Discussion: Unlocking the Full Potential of Tissue-Free, Methylation-Based Liquid Biopsies to Redefine Monitoring

Synopsis

  • The logistical and clinical limitations of tissue-informed methods, including time to treatment, tissue availability, and turnaround time
  • How methylation signatures may offer higher sensitivity and broader applicability than variant tracking alone
  • Considerations for clinical validation, regulatory frameworks, and payer acceptance of tissue-free MRD solutions

1:30 pm Lunch & Networking Break

Advancing MRD as a Surrogate Endpoint to Streamline Trial Readouts in Hematology

2:30 pm Translating MRD Success in Hematologic Cancers to Solid Tumors to Expand MRD Impact & Accelerate Clinical Trials

  • Duane Hassane Senior Director, Head of Translational Omics, Hematology Research & Development, AstraZeneca

Synopsis

  • Exploring the role of minimal residual disease (MRD) in enhancing treatment strategies for hematologic cancers
  • Leveraging MRD insights to optimize personalized therapies, improving patient outcomes and reducing relapse risks
  • Discussing cutting-edge approaches to MRD detection and their impact on clinical decision-making in hematologic cancer management

Hematology

3:00 pm Session Reserved for: SAGA Diagnostics

3:30 pm FNIH MMyeRisk Project: Defining Biomarkers to Stratify Patients at Risk of Developing Multiple Myeloma from MGUS & Smoldering Myeloma

Synopsis

  • Pre-competitive consortia built of varied stakeholders can has outsize impact
  • The FNIH has had success in hematology, specifically in evaluating MRD in ALL, AML, and MM
  • Our latest effort, the MMyeRisk project, brings together 8 partners who are working to define biomarkers predictive of progression from MGUS/SMM to Multiple Myeloma

Hematology

4:00 pm Afternoon Networking Break

Empowering Pathology: Enhancing Liquid Biopsy Precision Through Collaboration & Digital Innovation

4:30 pm Bridging the Gap of the Role of Molecular Pathologists in Advancing Liquid Biopsy for Precision Oncology

Synopsis

  • How can pathologists collaborate more effectively with biopharma and oncologists to optimize biomarker-driven clinical trials and improve treatment decision-making?
  • What are the key challenges in ensuring pathologists play a central role in determining when and how liquid biopsy should be integrated into clinical workflows, and how can their involvement be enhanced?
  • How can digital pathology, molecular techniques, and AI strengthen the role of pathologists in integrating multi-omics and clinical data in patient stratification and resistance monitoring through liquid biopsy applications?

Pathology

5:00 pm Transforming Patient Care Through Digital Pathology Innovations in Clinical Trials

  • Qing Li Director - Pathology, Clinical Development & Oncology, Moderna

Synopsis

  • Evolving role of pathologist in cancer patient care
  • The challenges of patient selection in current biomarker testing landscape
  • Facilitate trial success through implementation of pathology

Digital Pathology

5:30 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks

  • Minakshi Guha Associate Director - PTM Strategic Innovations, Takeda Pharmaceutical

5:35 pm End of Conference Day One