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BioE Seminar Series Presents Erica Pratt
October 26, 2022 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Department of Bioengineering Seminar Series presents:
Erica Pratt, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston MA
“Liquid biopsy approaches in pancreatic cancer”
Wednesday, October 26th, 2022
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST
105 Shillman Hall
ABSTRACT:
Only 25% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) patients with localized disease survive five years after a ‘curative’ resection. It is hypothesized that PDA undergoes dissemination at the earliest stages of tumorigenesis, driving the formation of micrometastases that go undetected using conventional screening methods. The development of high-specificity, high-sensitivity biomarkers is critical to improving patient outcomes. Growing evidence suggests circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is an ideal candidate to fill this gap. ctDNA has been successfully used as a noninvasive prognostic biomarker in multiple solid tumor types. However, pancreatic cancer remains intractable due to its intrinsically low molecular signal and fast timeline to progression. To address this need, we have developed a digital PCR (dPCR)-based platform for rapid, flexible, and multiplexed ctDNA detection. Our approach for sensitive detection of low abundance ctDNA is a promising tool for modular and scalable mutation profiling.
BIO:
Erica D. Pratt is an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. Her lab works at the interface of engineering, chemical biology and oncology to develop assays for cancer diagnosis and monitoring. She earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Erica went on to earn her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University working with Brian J. Kirby. There she co-designed the Geometrically Enhanced Differential Immunocapture (GEDI) platform for high-efficiency and high-purity microfluidic isolation of circulating tumor cells from whole blood samples. Erica then completed multi-disciplinary postdocs with Andrew D. Rhim and Laurie L. Parker developing assays for non-invasive omic characterization of solid cancers.