ccfDNA 101 Emerging Trends in Oncology Research

 ccfDNA Webinar Series: The Basics and Beyond 

Circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) found in plasma and other bodily fluids shows great promise as a source of easily accessible DNA-based information.  Research is giving rise to the possibility of liquid biopsies that would eliminate the need for invasive tissue collection.

In this webinar, we will discuss ccfDNA in relation to the other molecules commonly referred to as liquid biopsy. When working with ccfDNA there are many considerations and we will discuss factors for sample collection from blood, expected recovery (yields) of ccfDNA and thoughts on the detection of rare events given expected yields and the frequency of mutational events vs. the sensitivity of various downstream assays.

Douglas White 

Doug White graduated from University of Wisconsin Madison with a Master’s Degree in Biochemistry and has been a Promega scientist for 25 years. While at Promega, he’s developed multiple key products including PepTag®, IsoQuant®, PureYield™ Midi and Maxipreps, and various ReliaPrep™ Nucleic Acid Purification Kits.

Part I: ccfDNA 101: Emerging Trends in Oncology Research

 View Webinar Recording  

Douglas Horejsh, Ph.D. 
 

Douglas Horejsh is a Senior Research Scientist in the Protein and Nucleic Acid Analysis Division of Research & Development at Promega Corporation. He is interested in development of nucleic acid purification systems to yield high quality nucleic acids from challenging starting samples. His group develops purification chemistries in manual and large instrument formats, along with fluorescent dyes for nucleic acid detection.

Prior to joining Promega, Douglas was a clinical lab director for a molecular pathology company in Virginia. His work focused on identification, evaluation, validation, and integration of IVD and LDT assays in a clinical lab setting. He also managed BSL-3 facilities and led research on emerging/biodefense pathogens.

Douglas has authored 20 journal articles and is an inventor of issued world and Italian patents. He received his Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and trained as a post-doc at the Institute of Human Virology in Baltimore, MD.

Part 2 - ccfDNA Workflows: Honing in on the Target​
 View Webinar Recording  
 

Margaret L Gulley, MD 

Margaret L. Gulley MD is professor and Director of Molecular Pathology in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. She provides laboratory services to patients with cancer, heritable disease, infectious disease, or transplant. Dr. Gulley’s research on virus-related malignancy seeks to validate novel molecular assays that add value for disease classification and monitoring. Work with professional societies aims to promote high quality molecular services in clinical laboratories.


Part 3 - ccfDNA In the Lab: Optimizing Purification for Sequencing
 View Webinar Recording