Four medical-technology research teams at Case Western Reserve University, three of which are led by Case CCC members, will participate in focused entrepreneurial training through  I-Corps@Ohio , an  Ohio Department of Higher Education  initiative created to advance their work from the lab to the commercial market. Each selected project has potential for a product or services for medical treatments or surgeries.  

Novel imaging agent for tumor detection and fluorescence-guided imaging during surgery

Susann  Brady-Kalnay, PhD, Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, has developed an imaging peptide that binds to and fluorescently highlights cancer cells to aid in the surgical resection of the brain tumor glioblastoma. This imaging agent, which she calls SBK2, has translational significance for molecular imaging of tumors, guiding neurosurgeons to a more complete resection of tumors-including the removal of invasive tumor cells that have migrated away from the main tumor. That allows surgeons to make real-time decisions on tumor margins to improve patient outcomes.

Optical method for monitoring corneal crosslinking and corneal biomechanics 

Andrew  Rollins, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine, and his research team have developed a new method, based on optical coherence tomography, to detect and map corneal mechanical properties that requires no contact or disturbance of the cornea. The potential advantages of this technique may make it readily translatable to clinical use because of existing hardware already in the clinician's office.

Point-of-care device (POC) for diagnosing and monitoring of oral cancer

Aaron  Weinberg, DMD, PhD, CWRU School of Dental Medicine Associate Dean for Research, and Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences, has developed a non-invasive oral cancer biomarker test that collects cells from questionable oral lesions and objectively determines if they are cancerous within 15 minutes. He is currently conducting a small clinical study to test the technology.

Kattan Recognized with National Award

Michael Kattan, PhD, MBA, Chair of  Lerner Research Institute's Department of Quantitative Health Sciences and a joint appointee in the  Cleveland Clinic Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, and member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been elected a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA). The formal induction ceremony will be in Vancouver this coming July. Dr. Kattan was nominated by an ASA-member peer for his excellent reputation and outstanding contributions to statistical science.

Dr. Kattan has created numerous nomograms-mathematical models sometimes called "risk calculators"-that clinicians use to help assess a patient's individual risk for cancers and other disorders and to inform targeted therapeutic strategy. The models, often called "Kattan nomograms", have already become part of the staging systems and decision-making guidelines for doctors at such prestigious institutions as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (where more than 100 nomograms are featured), as advocated by the American Joint Committee on Cancer. His online calculators are a valuable aspect of modern medicine's push toward more precise personalized care using "big data", primarily culled from electronic medical records. Dr. Kattan has long been a specialist in machine learning, analysis of health care data and computer modeling for medical decision making. more>

The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University will host the 20th Annual Midwest DNA Repair Symposium,  May 5-6, 2018 . This symposium is a great opportunity for people working on DNA damage and repair in the midwest area to gather together and discuss science! The agenda promises exciting science and opportunities for networking, poster presentations, and keynote presentations from field experts  Stephen Kowalczykowski and Lee Zou .

There is only one more week to register - secure your spot today, and encourage your students and trainees to attend as well! 

PAVmed Inc. , a highly differentiated, multi-product medical device company, today announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Case Western Reserve University to commercialize its groundbreaking EsoCheck technology. EsoCheck combines a non-invasive, cell-sampling device with highly accurate DNA biomarkers to detect Barrett's Esophagus, the primary precursor of esophageal cancer. In a simple five-minute office-based test, the patient swallows a vitamin pill-sized capsule containing a small inflatable balloon attached to a thin catheter, which swabs the target area for cells as the catheter is withdrawn. The sample is then tested for the presence of DNA biomarkers recently shown to be highly accurate in detecting Barrett's Esophagus..."Our goal is to save lives through early detection," said EsoCheck co-inventor Amitabh Chak, MD, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, professor of medicine at Case Western University School of Medicine, gastroenterologist at UH Digestive Health Institute, and director of the Advanced Technology & Innovation Center of Excellence at University Hospitals Division of Gastroenterology and editorial board chair of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the pre-eminent journal in the field... DNA is extracted from the cells and tested for a panel of DNA biomarkers developed by the laboratory of EsoCheck co-inventor Sanford Markowitz, MD, PhD, the Ingalls Professor of Cancer Genetics medical oncologist at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, NCI Outstanding Investigator Awardee, and head of the NIH-Case GI Cancers Program of Research Excellence (GI SPORE) and co-Leader, GI Cancer Genetics Program at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.  The Science Translational Medicine paper showed that DNA methylation of the VIM and CCNA1 genes is diagnostic of Barrett's Esophagus and that EsoCheck, which combines the proprietary balloon sampling device with these biomarkers, was over 90% accurate at identifying patients without Barrett's Esophagus. The third EsoCheck co-inventor, Joseph Willis, MD, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, professor of pathology and pathology vice-chair for clinical affairs, at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, is leading an ongoing NIH-supported effort to create a CLIA-certified VIM/CCNA1 DNA methylation test suitable for commercialization.