Ignaty Leshchiner, PhD

Research Project:
Predicting When Lung Cancer Will Return

Grant Awarded:

Innovation Award

Research Topics:

biomarkers
computational biology
mechanisms of metastasis
screening

Research Disease:

lung cancer

Monitoring the recurrence and progression of lung cancer, particularly in high-risk populations like smokers, is critical to improving patient outcomes. Current methods often rely on imaging studies, which typically detect recurrence at later stages, limiting treatment options. At the same time, identifying subtle genetic changes that signal renewed disease activity can help physicians intervene sooner and more precisely. Recent advances in analyzing cell-free DNA—tiny fragments of genetic material released into the bloodstream—offer an opportunity to monitor cancer non-invasively and at earlier timepoints. Our project focuses on developing highly sensitive methods to detect and track these tumor-related DNA fragments when they are present at extremely low levels. By measuring growth rates of different types of cancer cells shedding this DNA directly we can predict the time when the cancer will come back and what characteristics the recurrent or metastatic tumor will have.

Page last updated: October 29, 2025

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