Yun Wu
University at Buffalo, NY·Biomedical Engineering
Lung cancer causes about a quarter of all cancer deaths worldwide, and catching it early and choosing the right treatment both save lives. The standard screening test, a low-dose CT scan, often flags harmless spots as possible cancer.
- Fields
Biomedical Engineering
Medicine & Clinical Research
Chemistry
- Topics
lung cancer
liquid biopsy
exosomes
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Develop the Exo-PROS biosensor, which captures tumor-derived exosomes from blood, and measure its sensitivity, specificity, linear range and repeatability for detecting proteins, microRNAs and sugar antigens.
- Test whether combined tumor-exosome markers measured by Exo-PROS detect early-stage lung cancer and improve the accuracy of low-dose CT screening by reducing false positives.
- Evaluate whether exosome markers such as PD-L1, miR-21 and TF-Ag-α predict and track lung cancer patients' responses to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, as a complement to tissue biopsy and imaging.
More about the research
That leads to unnecessary biopsies and repeated radiation. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are drugs that release the brakes on the immune system so it can attack tumors. They work for only a minority of lung cancer patients, and doctors lack good ways to tell early who will benefit. A blood test, or "liquid biopsy," could help with both problems without surgery.
Why it matters
A simple, low-cost blood test could help people screened for lung cancer avoid unnecessary biopsies and repeated radiation from false-positive CT results. It could also help oncologists judge early whether a patient is responding to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, without relying only on invasive tissue biopsies or delayed imaging. Together these uses may improve treatment decisions and outcomes for lung cancer patients.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Yaguang Xi
University of Georgia, GA·Pharmacology
Determine how the oncogenic microRNA miR-10b and its target gene NR4A3 contribute to the experimental compound LG007's activity against triple-negative breast cancer.
David Tweardy
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, TX·Medicine & Clinical Research
Determine whether the STAT3 inhibitor TTI-101, alone or combined with anti-PD-1 antibody, treats lung tumors effectively in the K-ras mutant CC-LR mouse model of non-small cell lung cancer.
Dan Shu
Ohio State University, OH·Biomedical Engineering
Build and evaluate exosome–RNA nanoparticle complexes carrying TNBC-targeting ligands, including RNA aptamers against EGFR, CD133, CD44 or nAHRs and the chemical ligand methotrexate, together with tumor-suppressing siRNA and miRNA cargo.
The school
University at Buffalo: 32 labs on PI Pages, $542M a year on research, 316 research doctorates a year.
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