Paraskevi Giannakakou, Weill-Cornell Medical College to Present at 2nd Cancer Markers & Liquid Biopsies

Boston, MA, May 30, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Paraskevi Giannakakou, Professor of Pharmacology in Medicine & Principal Investigator at Weill-Cornell Medical College, will give a presentation on, “Drug-Target Engagement in CTCs: From Mechanism to Clinical Application in Prostate Cancer” at GTCbio’s 2nd Cancer Markers & Liquid Biopsies Conference to be held on July 6-7, 2016 in Boston, MA.

Dr. P. Giannakakou is a tenured Professor of Pharmacology in Medicine, in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at WCMC. She is also the Director of Laboratory Research in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology and is member of the faculty of WCMC, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Science (WCGSMS) and the Meyer Cancer Center.

Dr. P. Giannakakou is an accomplished investigator with more than 86 publications in high profile journals. Her laboratory studies the biology of the microtubule cytoskeleton and the molecular mechanisms of action and resistance to drugs that target microtubules (e.g. taxanes) and are used in cancer chemotherapy. Her research is focused on the identification of microtubule-dependent cell signaling and trafficking pathways that are critically involved in cancer progression. To translate her group’s preclinical work to the clinical setting they have developed a number of multidisciplinary approaches that allow the isolation and molecular characterization of patient-derived circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which they use as a source of liquid biopsy to study the molecular basis and evolution of clinical drug resistance. These capabilities have allowed them to obtain funding for multi-institutional clinical trials, which use CTCs to follow patients longitudinally and to establish biomarkers predictive of response to therapy. Dr. Giannakakou’s ultimate goal is to identify new molecular targets that affect or are affected by microtubule dynamics use this knowledge to develop better-targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer.

Leaders in industry and academia will discuss platforms for isolating and studying CTCs. Technologies such as next generation sequencing and digital PCR are gaining momentum in these research areas. Biomarker sensitivity, stability, validation, and how we can use markers to follow up with patients and improve the quality of life, will also be discussed.

Session Topics:

I. Isolation, Characterization & Diagnostic Applications of CTCs
II. Advances in the Clinical Application of Circulating Nucleic Acids
III. Validation & Application of Cancer Specific Markers
IV. Current Progress in Exosome Application
V. Clinical & Biological Challenges in Liquid Biopsy

This conference is also part of their larger Molecular Diagnostics Summit, which includes two additional conferences:

2nd Cancer Markers & Liquid Biopsies
Precision Medicine
Digital PCR & qPCR

For more information, please visit website: www.gtcbio.com/conferences/cancer-markers-liquid-biopsies-overview

GTCbio
635 W. Foothill Blvd
Monrovia, CA 91016
www.gtcbio.com/
Email: infogtcbio@gtcbio.com
Phone: (626) 256-6405
Fax: (626) 466-4433