DCTD Technology Development Seminar Series

This seminar series is brought to you by NCI’s Cancer Diagnosis Program (CDP) to showcase advanced technology development in cancer research. The series is organized by Dr. Jung Byun in the Diagnostic Biomarkers and Technology Branch (DBTB). Read about past presenters and view available recordings for select seminars below.

On This Page

• Dr. Nadav Ahituv — “Functional Characterization, Diagnostics, and Therapeutic Targeting of Cancer-Associated Gene Regulatory Elements”
• Dr. Gabe A. Kwong — “Bioengineering Synthetic Biomarkers for Earlier Cancer Detection”
• Dr. Anthony Kim — “Development of targeted nanotherapeutics for primary and metastatic cancers”
• Dr. Oliver Jonas — “Implantable microdevices (IMD) to measure multiple drug responses and guide treatment decisions in cancer patients”

Dr. Nadav Ahituv — “Functional Characterization, Diagnostics, and Therapeutic Targeting of Cancer-Associated Gene Regulatory Elements”

Dr. Nadav Ahituv is the director for the Institute for Human Genetics and a professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. He earned his B.Sc. in biology and his Ph.D. in human genetics from Tel-Aviv University in Israel and completed his postdoc in genomics at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

Dr. Ahituv’s research is focused on uncovering how variations in gene regulatory elements influence human phenotypes and diseases. His group uses various genomic technologies including single-cell technologies and massively parallel functional assays to explore novel cancer therapies, obesity genetics and neurodevelopmental disorders. His innovative work bridges fundamental genomic discoveries with therapeutic applications, making a significant impact on precision medicine.

Dr. Ahituv was recently honored with the Scientific Achievement Award from the American Society of Human Genetics, and has authored numerous publications in prestigious journals including Science and Nature Metabolism.

Dr. Ahituv presented at the Technology Development Seminar on March 7th, 2025.

Watch a recording of Dr. Ahituv’s presentation here. 

Dr. Gabe A. Kwong — “Bioengineering Synthetic Biomarkers for Earlier Cancer Detection”

Dr. Gabe Kwong is an Associate Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. He earned his B.S. from UC Berkeley and his Ph.D. from Caltech both in Bioengineering. His research program is centered at the interface of bioengineering, immunology and medicine. His group pioneers cell therapies and biosensors to address frontier challenges in cancer, transplantation medicine, and infectious diseases. Among his distinctions, Dr. Kwong is a recipient of the NIH Director’s New Innovator and Pioneer Awards, and currently leads the $49.5 million Cancer and Organ Degradome Atlas (CODA) project, a multi-institutional research enterprise supported by The Advanced research Projects Agency for health (ARPA-H) to revolutionize multi-cancer early detection. Dr. Kwong co-founded two biotechnology companies, and holds over 35 issued or pending patents.

Dr. Kwong presented at the Technology Development Seminar on November 21st, 2024.

Dr. Anthony Kim — “Development of targeted nanotherapeutics for primary and metastatic cancers”

Dr. Anthony Kim is a Professor (Tenured) of Neurosurgery, Pharmacology, and Bioengineering at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Kim received his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He then completed his postdoctoral training as an individual NIH F32 National Research Service Award (NRSA) postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Kim joined the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine as a Tenure-track Assistant Professor in April 2013.

As Director of the Nanotherapeutics Laboratory and Co-Director of the Translational Therapeutics Research Group (TTRG), Dr. Kim’s research focuses on developing translational nanomedicine for brain, breast, and other cancers. This is achieved through a collaborative team of engineers, basic scientists, and clinicians to spur innovation at the interface of biomedical engineering and clinical medicine. Towards this goal, his team will (1) identify and characterize the rate-limiting extra- and intracellular barriers by applying innovative biophysical tools and (2) develop advanced therapeutic platforms that overcome these barriers to improve therapeutic outcomes. Dr. Kim has authored ~60 peer-reviewed papers, including publications in Science, Nature Materials, ACS Nano, Science Advances, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie, Physical Review Letters, and Biomaterials. His research program has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), National Science Foundation (NSF), American Cancer Society (ACS), Elsa U. Pardee Foundation, AAPS Foundation, PhRMA Foundation, TEDCO, and others.

Dr. Kim presented at the Technology Development Seminar on August 22nd, 2024.

Dr. Oliver Jonas — “Implantable microdevices (IMD) to measure multiple drug responses and guide treatment decisions in cancer patients”

Dr. Oliver Jonas, Ph.D. is Director of the Laboratory for Bio-Micro-Devices at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School with appointment in the Departments of Radiology. Dr. Jonas’ research focuses on new technologies for precision medicine, such as microscale implantable drug delivery and sensing devices, miniaturized biomedical optics, and in situ drug response measurements in tumors. Dr. Jonas also focuses on the translational application of his technologies, including early stage clinical trials.

Dr. Jonas presented at the Technology Development Seminar on May 7th, 2024.