9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You have cancer.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Sadly, about 40 percent of us will hear[br]those three words within our lifetime,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and half will not survive.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This means that two of five[br]of your closest friends and relatives

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
will be diagnosed[br]with some form of cancer,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and one will die.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Beyond the physical harships,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
roughly one-third of cancer[br]survivors here in the US

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
will go into debt from treatment.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And they're at least two-and-a-half times[br]more likely to declare bankruptcy

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
than those without cancer.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This disease is pervasive.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's emotionally drainging,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and for many,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
financially destructive.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But a cancer diagnosis doesn't[br]have to be a death sentence.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Finding cancer early,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
closer its genesis,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is one of the critical factors[br]to improving treatment options,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
reducing its emotional impact

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and minimizing financial burdens.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Most importantly,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
finding cancer early --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which is one of the primary[br]aims of my research --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
greatly enhances your odds of survival.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
If we just look at the case[br]of breast cancer for example,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we find that those who are diagnosed[br]and treated as Stage One

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
have a five-year survival rate[br]of nearly 100 percent.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Odds that decrease to just 22 percent[br]if treated at Stage Four.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And similar trends are found[br]for cholorectal and ovarian cancer.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now, we're all aware that an early[br]diagnosis that is accurate

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is critical for survival.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The problem is that many cancer[br]diagnostic tools are invasive,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
costly,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
often inaccurate,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and they can take an agonizing amount[br]of time to get the results back.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Still worse,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when it comes to some forms of cancer,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
such as ovarian, liver[br]or pancreatic cancer,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
good screening methods simply don't exist,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
meaning often people wait until[br]physical symptoms surface,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which are themselves already indicators[br]of late stage progression.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Like a tornado strike in an area[br]without an early warning system,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
there is no alarm to warn

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for the danger is already[br]at your doorstep ...

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when your odds of survival[br]are greatly reduced.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Having the convenience and accessibility[br]of regular screening options

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that are affordable, noninvasive[br]and could provide results much sooner,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
would provide us with a formidable[br]weapon in the fight against cancer.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
An early warning would allow us[br]to get out ahead of the disease

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
instead of merely following[br]in its relentless wake.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And this is exactly what I've been doing.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
For the past three years,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I've been developing technologies

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that could ultimately aid clinicians

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with rapid, early-stage[br]cancer diagnostics.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And I've been fueled by a deep[br]scientific curiosity,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and a passion to change these statistics.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Last year however,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
this fight became much more personal

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when my wife was diagnosed[br]with breast cancer.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It was an experience that added a strong[br]and unexpected emotional dimension

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to these efforts.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I know firsthand how life-altering[br]treatment can be,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and I'm keenly aware[br]of the emotional havoc

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that cancer and wreak on a family,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which in our case included[br]our two young daughters.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Because we found it early[br]during a routine mamogram,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we were able to focus primarly[br]on treatment options

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for the localized tumor,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
reaffirming to me how important[br]an early diagnosis is.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Unlike other forms of cancer,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
mamograms do offer an early stage[br]screening option for breast cancer.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Still, not everyone has this done,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or they may develop cancer before[br]the middle age recommendation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for having a mamogram.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So, there's still a lot[br]of room for improvement,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
even for cancers that do[br]have screening options.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And of course,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
considerable benefits[br]for those that don't.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
A key challenge then[br]for cancer researchers

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is to develop methods

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that make regular screening for many[br]types of cancers much more accessible.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Imagine a scenario where during[br]your regular checkup,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
your doctor can take a simple,[br]noninvasive urine sample,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or other liquid biopsy,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and present you with the results[br]before you even leave the doctor's office.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Such a technology could dramatically[br]reduce the number of people

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
who slipped through the net[br]of an early stage cancer diagnosis.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
My research team[br]of engineers and biochemists

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is working on exactly this challenge.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We're working on ways to frequently[br]activate an early stage cancer alarm

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
by enable regular screenings that would[br]start when a person is healthy

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so that action could be taken to stop[br]cancer the moment it emerges,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and before it can progress[br]beyond its infancy.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The silver bullet in this case[br]are tiny [vesacilles],

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
little escape pods regularly shed[br]by cells called [exosomes].

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Exosomes are important biomarkers[br]that provide an early warning system

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for the development of cancer.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And because they're abundantly present[br]in just about every bodily fluid,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
including blood, urine and saliva,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they're extremely attractive[br]for noninvasive, liquid biopsies.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There's just one problem.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And automated system for rapidly sorting[br]these important biomarkers

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is not currently available.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We've created a technology[br]that we call "Nano DOD"

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that is capable of precisely this.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Automated exome isolation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to aid rapid cancer diagnostics.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Exosomes are the newest early[br]warning weapon if you will

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to emerge on the liquid biopsy front.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And they're really, really small.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They measure just 30 to 150[br]nanometers in diameter.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This is so tiny

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that you could fit about a million[br]of them into a single red blood cell.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
That's roughly the difference[br]between a golf ball

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and a fine grain piece of sand.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Once thought to be little bins[br]for unwanted cellular waste,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it has been found that cells[br]actually communicate

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
by producing and absorbing these exosomes

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which contain surface receptors,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
proteins

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and other genetic material[br]collected from their cell of origin.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
When absorbed by a neighboring cell,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
exosomes release their contents[br]into the receiving cell,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and can set in motion fundamental[br]changes in gene expression --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
some good --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and this is where cancer comes in --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
some bad.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Because they are clothed[br]in the material of the mother cell,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and contain a sample of its environment,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they provide a genetic snapshot[br]of that cell's health and its origin.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
All of these qualities make exosomes[br]invaluable messengers

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that potentially allow physicians[br]to eavesdrop on your health

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
at the cellular level.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
To catch cancer early however,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
you have to frequently[br]intercept these messages

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to determine when cancer-cause[br]troublemakers within your body

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
decide to start staging a coup,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which is why regular[br]screening is so critical,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and why we're developing[br]technologies to make this possible.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
While the first exosome-based diagnostics[br]emerged on the market just this year,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they're not yet part of mainstream[br]healthcare options.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In addition to their recent emergence,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
another factor that's limiting[br]their widespread adoption

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is that currently,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
no automated exosome isolation exists

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to make regular screening[br]economically accessible.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The current gold standard[br]for exosome isolation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
includes [ultra-centifucation],

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a process requiring expensive[br]laboratory equipment,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a trained lab tech

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and about 30 hours of time[br]to process a sample.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We've come up with a different approach[br]for achieving automated exosome isolation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
from a sample such as urine.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We use a chip based, continuous flow[br]separation technique

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
called deterministic lateral displacement.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And we have done with it

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
what the semiconductor industry has done[br]so succesfully for the past 50 years.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We shrunk the dimensions[br]of this technology

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to the miscronscale[br]to the true nanoscale.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So how does it work?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In a nutshell,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
instead of tiny pillars separated[br]by nanoscopic gaps,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are arranged in such a way

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that the system divides the fluid[br]into streamlines

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with the larger cancer-related particles[br]

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
being separated through[br]a process of redirection

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
from the smaller, healthier ones,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which can in contrast,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
move around the pillars[br]in a zig-zag type motion

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in the direction of fluid flow.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The net result is a complete separation[br]of these two particle populations.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You can visualize this separation process[br]similar to traffic on a highway

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that separated into two roads,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with one road going into a low[br]clearance tunnel under a mountain

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and the other road going around it.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Here, smaller cars[br]can go through the tunnel

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
while larger trucks,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
carrying potentially hazardous material,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are forced to take the detour route.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Traffic is effectively separated[br]by size and contents

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
without impeding its flow.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And this is exactly how our system works[br]on a much, much smaller scale.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The idea here is that the separation[br]process for screening

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
could be as simple as processing[br]a sample of urine, blood or saliva,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which is a near-term possibility[br]within the next few years.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Ultimately, it could be used to isolate[br]and detect target exosomes

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
associated with a particular[br]type of cancer,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
sensing and reporting[br]their presence within minutes.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This would make rapid diagnostics[br]virtually painless.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Broadly speaking,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the ability to separate[br]and enrich biomarkers

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with nanoscale precision[br]in an automated way

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
opens the door to better understanding[br]diseases such as cancer

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with applications ranging from sample[br]preparation to diagnostics,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and from drug resistance[br]monitoring to therapeutics.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Even before my wife's bout with cancer,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it was a dream of mine to facilitate[br]the automation of this process --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to make regular screening more accessilbe,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
similar to the way Henry Ford made[br]the automobile accessible

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to the general population

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
through development of the assembly line.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Automation is the key to accessibility.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And in the spirit of the Hoover dream,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a chicken in every pot[br]and a car in every garage,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we're developing a technology

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that could ultimately place an early[br]warning cancer detection system

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in every home.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This would allow every[br]man, woman and child

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the opportunity to be regularly tested[br]while their still healthy,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
catching cancer when it first emerges.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It is my hope and dream

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to help people around the world[br]avoid the high costs --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
phsyical, financial and emotional --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
faced by today's cancer patients.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Hardships that I'm well acquainted with.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I'm also happy to report that because[br]we caught my wife's cancer early,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
her treatment was successful,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and she is now, thankfully, cancer-free.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Applause)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It is an outcome that I would like to see[br]for everyone with a cancer diagnosis.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
With the work that my team[br]has already done

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
on separation of nanoscale biomarkers

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for rapid, early-stage cancer diagnostics,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I am optimistic that within[br]the next decade,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
this type of technology will be available,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
helping protect our friends, our family,[br]and future generations.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Even if we are so unlucky[br]as to be diagnosed with cancer,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that early-stage alarm will provide[br]a strong beacon of hope.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thank you.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Applause)