0:00:04.240,0:00:06.840
"You have cancer."

0:00:08.680,0:00:13.120
Sadly, about 40 percent of us will hear[br]those three words within our lifetime,

0:00:13.840,0:00:15.960
and half will not survive.

0:00:16.960,0:00:20.816
This means that two out of five[br]of your closest friends and relatives

0:00:20.840,0:00:23.296
will be diagnosed[br]with some form of cancer,

0:00:23.320,0:00:24.800
and one will die.

0:00:27.280,0:00:28.736
Beyond the physical hardships,

0:00:28.760,0:00:31.936
roughly one-third[br]of cancer survivors here in the US

0:00:31.960,0:00:33.696
will go into debt from treatment.

0:00:33.720,0:00:37.456
And they're at least two and a half times[br]more likely to declare bankruptcy

0:00:37.480,0:00:38.720
than those without cancer.

0:00:39.680,0:00:42.056
This disease is pervasive.

0:00:42.080,0:00:43.656
It's emotionally draining,

0:00:43.680,0:00:44.896
and for many,

0:00:44.920,0:00:46.320
financially destructive.

0:00:47.880,0:00:51.440
But a cancer diagnosis[br]doesn't have to be a death sentence.

0:00:51.920,0:00:53.776
Finding cancer early,

0:00:53.800,0:00:55.016
closer its genesis,

0:00:55.040,0:00:58.656
is one of the critical factors[br]to improving treatment options,

0:00:58.680,0:01:00.656
reducing its emotional impact

0:01:00.680,0:01:02.640
and minimizing financial burdens.

0:01:03.560,0:01:04.775
Most importantly,

0:01:04.800,0:01:06.056
finding cancer early --

0:01:06.080,0:01:08.976
which is one of the primary[br]aims of my research --

0:01:09.000,0:01:11.160
greatly enhances your odds of survival.

0:01:12.120,0:01:14.856
If we just look at the case[br]of breast cancer for example,

0:01:14.880,0:01:18.376
we find that those who are diagnosed[br]and treated at stage one

0:01:18.400,0:01:22.160
have a five-year survival rate[br]of nearly 100 percent --

0:01:22.760,0:01:26.760
odds that decrease to just 22 percent[br]if treated at stage four.

0:01:28.040,0:01:32.000
And similar trends are found[br]for colorectal and ovarian cancer.

0:01:34.000,0:01:39.456
Now, we're all aware[br]that an early diagnosis that is accurate

0:01:39.480,0:01:41.600
is critical for survival.

0:01:43.600,0:01:47.416
The problem is that many[br]cancer diagnostic tools are invasive,

0:01:47.440,0:01:48.656
costly,

0:01:48.680,0:01:49.896
often inaccurate

0:01:49.920,0:01:53.560
and they can take an agonizing[br]amount of time to get the results back.

0:01:54.520,0:01:56.936
Still worse, when it comes[br]to some forms of cancer,

0:01:56.960,0:02:01.256
such as ovarian,[br]liver or pancreatic cancer,

0:02:01.280,0:02:03.960
good screening methods simply don't exist,

0:02:04.880,0:02:08.936
meaning that often people wait[br]until physical symptoms surface,

0:02:08.960,0:02:12.440
which are themselves already[br]indicators of late-stage progression.

0:02:13.920,0:02:17.496
Like a tornado strike in an area[br]without an early warning system,

0:02:17.520,0:02:19.416
there is no alarm to warn,

0:02:19.440,0:02:22.296
for the danger is already at your doorstep

0:02:22.320,0:02:25.360
when your odds of survival[br]are greatly reduced.

0:02:27.400,0:02:31.656
Having the convenience and accessibility[br]of regular screening options

0:02:31.680,0:02:37.016
that are affordable, noninvasive[br]and could provide results much sooner,

0:02:37.040,0:02:41.480
would provide us with a formidable[br]weapon in the fight against cancer.

0:02:42.760,0:02:45.816
An early warning would allow us[br]to get out ahead of the disease

0:02:45.840,0:02:48.576
instead of merely[br]following in its relentless wake.

0:02:48.600,0:02:50.576
And this is exactly what I've been doing.

0:02:50.600,0:02:53.736
For the past three years,[br]I've been developing technologies

0:02:53.760,0:02:55.496
that could ultimately aid clinicians

0:02:55.520,0:02:58.440
with rapid, early-stage[br]cancer diagnostics.

0:02:58.920,0:03:02.776
And I've been fueled[br]by a deep scientific curiosity,

0:03:02.800,0:03:05.320
and a passion to change these statistics.

0:03:06.880,0:03:08.080
Last year however,

0:03:08.960,0:03:10.720
this fight became much more personal

0:03:12.040,0:03:14.360
when my wife was diagnosed[br]with breast cancer.

0:03:15.560,0:03:19.976
It was an experience that added a strong[br]and unexpected emotional dimension

0:03:20.000,0:03:21.200
to these efforts.

0:03:23.240,0:03:26.520
I know firsthand how life altering[br]treatment can be,

0:03:27.520,0:03:30.176
and I'm keenly aware[br]of the emotional havoc

0:03:30.200,0:03:32.656
that cancer can wreak on a family,

0:03:32.680,0:03:35.080
which in our case[br]included our two young daughters.

0:03:36.400,0:03:39.536
Because we found it early[br]during a routine mammogram,

0:03:39.560,0:03:43.256
we were able to focus[br]primarily on treatment options

0:03:43.280,0:03:44.816
for the localized tumor,

0:03:44.840,0:03:49.240
reaffirming to me[br]how important an early diagnosis is.

0:03:50.960,0:03:52.440
Unlike other forms of cancer,

0:03:53.400,0:03:57.056
mammograms do offer an early-stage[br]screening option for breast cancer.

0:03:57.080,0:03:59.296
Still, not everyone has this done,

0:03:59.320,0:04:00.616
or they may develop cancer

0:04:00.640,0:04:03.760
before the middle age recommendation[br]for having a mammogram.

0:04:05.560,0:04:07.816
So, there's still[br]a lot of room for improvement,

0:04:07.840,0:04:10.096
even for cancers[br]that do have screening options.

0:04:10.120,0:04:12.960
And of course, considerable benefits[br]for those that don't.

0:04:13.680,0:04:16.416
A key challenge then[br]for cancer researchers

0:04:16.440,0:04:17.736
is to develop methods

0:04:17.760,0:04:21.296
that make regular screening[br]for many types of cancers

0:04:21.320,0:04:22.560
much more accessible.

0:04:23.920,0:04:26.976
Imagine a scenario[br]where during your regular checkup,

0:04:27.000,0:04:30.776
your doctor can take[br]a simple, noninvasive urine sample,

0:04:30.800,0:04:32.040
or other liquid biopsy,

0:04:32.720,0:04:36.244
and present you with the results[br]before you even leave the doctor's office.

0:04:36.800,0:04:40.336
Such a technology could[br]dramatically reduce the number of people

0:04:40.360,0:04:43.600
who slip through the net[br]of an early-stage cancer diagnosis.

0:04:44.840,0:04:47.656
My research team[br]of engineers and biochemists

0:04:47.680,0:04:49.720
is working on exactly this challenge.

0:04:50.320,0:04:55.456
We're working on ways to frequently[br]activate an early-stage cancer alarm

0:04:55.480,0:04:59.816
by enabling regular screenings[br]that would start when a person is healthy

0:04:59.840,0:05:04.136
so that action could be taken[br]to stop cancer the moment it emerges,

0:05:04.160,0:05:06.840
and before it can progress[br]beyond its infancy.

0:05:08.640,0:05:11.656
The silver bullet in this case[br]are tiny vesicles,

0:05:11.680,0:05:16.120
little escape pods regularly shed[br]by cells called exosomes.

0:05:16.680,0:05:19.416
Exosomes are important biomarkers

0:05:19.440,0:05:22.720
that provide an early-warning system[br]for the development of cancer.

0:05:23.720,0:05:27.136
And because they're abundantly present[br]in just about every bodily fluid,

0:05:27.160,0:05:29.656
including blood, urine and saliva,

0:05:29.680,0:05:33.880
they're extremely attractive[br]for noninvasive liquid biopsies.

0:05:35.040,0:05:36.616
There's just one problem.

0:05:36.640,0:05:40.936
An automated system for rapidly sorting[br]these important biomarkers

0:05:40.960,0:05:42.560
is not currently available.

0:05:43.680,0:05:46.976
We've created a technology[br]that we call nano-DLD

0:05:47.000,0:05:49.120
that is capable of precisely this:

0:05:49.920,0:05:52.616
automated exosome isolation

0:05:52.640,0:05:55.120
to aid rapid cancer diagnostics.

0:05:56.040,0:05:59.576
Exosomes are the newest[br]early-warning weapon, if you will,

0:05:59.600,0:06:01.656
to emerge on the liquid biopsy front.

0:06:01.680,0:06:03.976
And they're really, really small.

0:06:04.000,0:06:07.520
They measure just 30 to 150[br]nanometers in diameter.

0:06:08.280,0:06:09.576
This is so tiny

0:06:09.600,0:06:13.240
that you could fit about a million[br]of them into a single red blood cell.

0:06:13.800,0:06:16.136
That's roughly the difference[br]between a golf ball

0:06:16.160,0:06:17.880
and a fine grain piece of sand.

0:06:18.920,0:06:22.616
Once thought to be little bins[br]for unwanted cellular waste,

0:06:22.640,0:06:25.616
it has been found[br]that cells actually communicate

0:06:25.640,0:06:28.776
by producing and absorbing these exosomes

0:06:28.800,0:06:31.176
which contain surface receptors,

0:06:31.200,0:06:35.200
proteins and other genetic material[br]collected from their cell of origin.

0:06:36.520,0:06:39.176
When absorbed by a neighboring cell,

0:06:39.200,0:06:43.016
exosomes release their contents[br]into the receiving cell,

0:06:43.040,0:06:46.256
and can set in motion[br]fundamental changes in gene expression --

0:06:46.280,0:06:47.496
some good --

0:06:47.520,0:06:49.256
and this is where cancer comes in --

0:06:49.280,0:06:50.856
some bad.

0:06:50.880,0:06:54.656
Because they are clothed[br]in the material of the mother cell,

0:06:54.680,0:06:56.616
and contain a sample of its environment,

0:06:56.640,0:07:01.720
they provide a genetic snapshot[br]of that cell's health and its origin.

0:07:03.200,0:07:06.336
All of these qualities[br]make exosomes invaluable messengers

0:07:06.360,0:07:07.976
that potentially allow physicians

0:07:08.000,0:07:10.920
to eavesdrop on your health[br]at the cellular level.

0:07:12.080,0:07:13.736
To catch cancer early, however,

0:07:13.760,0:07:16.696
you have to frequently[br]intercept these messages

0:07:16.720,0:07:20.216
to determine when cancer-causing[br]troublemakers within your body

0:07:20.240,0:07:22.056
decide to start staging a coup,

0:07:22.080,0:07:25.096
which is why regular[br]screening is so critical

0:07:25.120,0:07:27.960
and why we're developing[br]technologies to make this possible.

0:07:29.120,0:07:34.776
While the first exosome-based diagnostics[br]emerged on the market just this year,

0:07:34.800,0:07:38.080
they are not yet part[br]of mainstream healthcare options.

0:07:39.320,0:07:41.176
In addition to their recent emergence,

0:07:41.200,0:07:44.656
another factor that's limiting[br]their widespread adoption

0:07:44.680,0:07:48.616
is that currently, no automated[br]exosome isolation system exists

0:07:48.640,0:07:51.840
to make regular screening[br]economically accessible.

0:07:52.800,0:07:55.536
The current gold standard[br]for exosome isolation

0:07:55.560,0:07:57.496
includes ultracentrifugation,

0:07:57.520,0:08:00.776
a process requiring[br]expensive laboratory equipment,

0:08:00.800,0:08:02.056
a trained lab tech

0:08:02.080,0:08:05.120
and about 30 hours of time[br]to process a sample.

0:08:06.600,0:08:11.256
We've come up with a different approach[br]for achieving automated exosome isolation

0:08:11.280,0:08:12.720
from a sample such as urine.

0:08:13.560,0:08:17.816
We use a chip-based, continuous flow[br]separation technique

0:08:17.840,0:08:20.816
called deterministic lateral displacement,

0:08:20.840,0:08:22.216
and we have done with it

0:08:22.240,0:08:26.696
what the semiconductor industry has done[br]so successfully for the past 50 years.

0:08:26.720,0:08:28.776
We shrunk the dimensions[br]of this technology

0:08:28.800,0:08:31.440
from the micron scale[br]to the true nanoscale.

0:08:32.720,0:08:34.176
So how does it work?

0:08:34.200,0:08:35.456
In a nutshell,

0:08:35.480,0:08:39.456
a set of tiny pillars[br]separated by nanoscopic gaps

0:08:39.480,0:08:40.736
are arranged in such a way

0:08:40.760,0:08:43.816
that the system divides[br]the fluid into streamlines,

0:08:43.840,0:08:47.216
with the larger cancer-related[br]nanoparticles being separated

0:08:47.240,0:08:51.136
through a process of redirection[br]from the smaller, healthier ones,

0:08:51.160,0:08:52.696
which can in contrast

0:08:52.720,0:08:55.256
move around the pillars[br]in a zigzag-type motion

0:08:55.280,0:08:56.840
in the direction of fluid flow.

0:08:58.080,0:09:02.080
The net result is a complete separation[br]of these two particle populations.

0:09:03.440,0:09:07.136
You can visualize this separation process

0:09:07.160,0:09:11.016
similar to traffic on a highway[br]that separates into two roads,

0:09:11.040,0:09:14.496
with one road going into[br]a low-clearance tunnel under a mountain,

0:09:14.520,0:09:16.576
and the other road going around it.

0:09:16.600,0:09:19.376
Here, smaller cars[br]can go through the tunnel

0:09:19.400,0:09:22.696
while larger trucks,[br]carrying potentially hazardous material,

0:09:22.720,0:09:24.480
are forced to take the detour route.

0:09:25.600,0:09:29.696
Traffic is effectively separated[br]by size and contents

0:09:29.720,0:09:31.736
without impeding its flow.

0:09:31.760,0:09:36.040
And this is exactly how our system works[br]on a much, much smaller scale.

0:09:37.600,0:09:41.456
The idea here is that[br]the separation process for screening

0:09:41.480,0:09:45.536
could be as simple as processing[br]a sample of urine, blood or saliva,

0:09:45.560,0:09:48.856
which is a near-term possibility[br]within the next few years.

0:09:48.880,0:09:54.176
Ultimately, it could be used[br]to isolate and detect target exosomes

0:09:54.200,0:09:57.416
associated with[br]a particular type of cancer,

0:09:57.440,0:09:59.880
sensing and reporting[br]their presence within minutes.

0:10:00.600,0:10:03.800
This would make rapid diagnostics[br]virtually painless.

0:10:04.720,0:10:05.976
Broadly speaking,

0:10:06.000,0:10:08.656
the ability to separate[br]and enrich biomarkers

0:10:08.680,0:10:11.400
with nanoscale precision[br]in an automated way,

0:10:12.320,0:10:15.776
opens the door to better understanding[br]diseases such as cancer,

0:10:15.800,0:10:19.776
with applications ranging[br]from sample preparation to diagnostics,

0:10:19.800,0:10:22.280
and from drug resistance[br]monitoring to therapeutics.

0:10:23.440,0:10:25.456
Even before my wife's bout with cancer,

0:10:25.480,0:10:28.960
it was a dream of mine to facilitate[br]the automation of this process --

0:10:29.840,0:10:32.776
to make regular screening more accessible,

0:10:32.800,0:10:35.696
similar to the way Henry Ford[br]made the automobile accessible

0:10:35.720,0:10:37.296
to the general population

0:10:37.320,0:10:39.576
through development of the assembly line.

0:10:39.600,0:10:42.360
Automation is the key to accessibility.

0:10:44.280,0:10:46.136
And in the spirit of the Hoover dream,

0:10:46.160,0:10:49.056
"a chicken in every pot[br]and a car in every garage,"

0:10:49.080,0:10:50.496
we're developing a technology

0:10:50.520,0:10:54.336
that could ultimately place[br]an early-warning cancer detection system

0:10:54.360,0:10:55.560
in every home.

0:10:56.000,0:10:58.056
This would allow[br]every man, woman and child

0:10:58.080,0:11:02.216
the opportunity to be regularly tested[br]while they're still healthy,

0:11:02.240,0:11:04.120
catching cancer when it first emerges.

0:11:05.400,0:11:06.896
It is my hope and dream

0:11:06.920,0:11:10.616
to help people around the world[br]avoid the high costs --

0:11:10.640,0:11:13.176
physical, financial and emotional --

0:11:13.200,0:11:14.920
faced by today's cancer patients ...

0:11:15.600,0:11:17.920
hardships that I'm well acquainted with.

0:11:19.400,0:11:23.776
I'm also happy to report that because[br]we caught my wife's cancer early,

0:11:23.800,0:11:25.456
her treatment was successful,

0:11:25.480,0:11:27.736
and she is now, thankfully, cancer-free.

0:11:27.760,0:11:29.960
(Applause)

0:11:36.160,0:11:40.560
It is an outcome that I would like to see[br]for everyone with a cancer diagnosis.

0:11:41.280,0:11:43.336
With the work that my team[br]has already done

0:11:43.360,0:11:46.096
on separation of nanoscale biomarkers

0:11:46.120,0:11:49.056
for rapid, early-stage cancer diagnostics,

0:11:49.080,0:11:51.616
I am optimistic[br]that within the next decade,

0:11:51.640,0:11:54.216
this type of technology will be available,

0:11:54.240,0:11:58.120
helping protect our friends,[br]our family and future generations.

0:11:58.680,0:12:02.576
Even if we are so unlucky[br]as to be diagnosed with cancer,

0:12:02.600,0:12:05.480
that early-stage alarm[br]will provide a strong beacon of hope.

0:12:06.280,0:12:07.496
Thank you.

0:12:07.520,0:12:09.960
(Applause)