Yanan Zhang
ZuriEV - non-invasive early cancer detection & real-time monitoring
Yanan Zhang has dedicated the past four years to researching tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), focusing on their potential to revolutionize early cancer detection and monitoring. Together with her team, she developed a cutting-edge multiomics-compatible liquid biopsy platform that leverages proprietary biomarkers expressed on the surface and within EVs. This platform enables highly sensitive, non-invasive detection of hard-to-spot cancers like brain tumor malignancies directly from blood samples, providing a critical tool for early-stage diagnosis when treatment options are most effective.
The platform’s ability to detect cancer at the earliest stages is driven by tumor-derived EVs carrying DNA, RNA, and protein markers that reflect the tumor’s biology. Extensive clinical validation at University Hospital Zurich has demonstrated its capability to accurately detect and monitor tumor progression across both retrospective and prospective cohorts, showing its clinical relevance. This positions the platform as a more precise tool for understanding tumor biology and therapy response compared to traditional diagnostic methods.
Targeting healthcare providers, clinical labs, and hospitals, their solution focuses on high-risk populations, aiming to revolutionize early detection and monitoring within the global cancer diagnostic market. This will empower doctors and patients to deliver proactive cancer care, potentially improving outcomes and reducing healthcare burdens worldwide.
Yanan and her team are poised to transform cancer diagnostics, particularly for challenging and rapidly progressing cancers like brain tumors. During her Fellowship, she will focus on advancing clinical validation, preparing regulatory submissions, and finalizing the prototype for a CE-marked diagnostic kit. She also plans to engage with key industry and hospital partners across Europe to initiate pilot testing and initiate market entry preparations. The goal is to take the first concrete steps toward bringing their test into hospitals and labs, while building the foundation for future commercialization and scale-up.
Affiliation: PD Dr. med. Dr. sc. Nat. Weiss Tobias
Start date: 1/2025