2024-25 Team Science Grantees: Ie-Ming Shih, MD, PhD, Thomas R. Pisanic II, PhD, Tza-Huei "Jeff" Wang, PhD, & Tian-Li Wang, PhD

2024-25 Team Science Grantees: Ie-Ming Shih, MD, PhD, Thomas R. Pisanic II, PhD, Tza-Huei “Jeff” Wang, PhD, & Tian-Li Wang, PhD

About Project

PapDREAM – A microfluidic platform for early, epigenetic-based detection of ovarian cancer in tissue proximal fluids

PROJECT SUMMARY

Noninvasive screening methods such as a Pap smear, stool DNA tests, and mammograms have been developed for other forms of cancer, but no such option exists for ovarian cancer. However, there is hope – our team at Johns Hopkins recently demonstrated that it is possible to detect ovarian and other gynecologic cancers by carefully examining the DNA in cells collected by a routine Pap smear. Over the last several years, and with Tina’s Wish support, we have worked to develop a new, inexpensive but very sensitive technique called PapDREAMing that uses a special microchip to identify chemical modifications that occur in the DNA of these cells at the earliest stages of ovarian cancer. Excitingly, initial testing of the PapDREAM method showed the best performance reported to date for Pap specimen-based detection of ovarian cancer. Nonetheless, more work is needed to make the PapDREAM method more suitable for routine screening in the clinic. In the next two (2) years, we will use new computational approaches to identify DNA chemical biomarkers that are specifically selected to improve the sensitivity and accuracy of PapDREAMing even further. We will also make new advances to the PapDREAM assay itself that will allow simultaneous testing of many biomarkers, greatly improving high volume screening applications. Lastly, we will test PapDREAM with other sample types, including blood and uterine washings, to see if we can determine the absolute best way to perform routine, noninvasive screening to detect ovarian at the earliest stages of disease.